Forgive Me Not
by babbit333
Summary: Beca and Chloe went through a horrible breakup in high school and 3 years later, they are reunited at Barden University. Over the years, Beca has changed drastically into a pretentious womanizer much to Chloe's dismay. Will Beca ever learn to forgive Chloe for her mistakes or will she forever hold a grudge against her?
1. Chapter 1

Beca and Chloe walked hand in hand through the park. The sun remained a sliver in existence in the horizon as the stars began to appear and dot the oncoming night sky. Beca and Chloe left right after Chloe's graduation and decided to walk through the park instead of going to the graduation party.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the party? You love parties," Beca offered.

Chloe shook her head, looking down, "No, I'm sure. There's something I need to tell you instead."

Beca smiled a little, anticipating what her girlfriend was going to say, "Really? There's something I need to tell you too."

They walked in silence for the better part of the walk until they reached a bench overlooking a lake that lay at the heart of the park. They both sat down, the silence unbroken.

Finally, Chloe started, "Beca, there's something I've been meaning to tell you for a while now."

Beca looked to the side of Chloe's face and stared at her girlfriend of one year with tender, loving eyes, "What is it? You can tell me anything."

She looked at Chloe, concern slowly seeping in as Chloe stared at her hands that were clasped together as she leaned on her knees. Chloe closed her eyes and pursed her lips, her heart thumping loudly throughout her body.

"Beca, I can't be with you anymore," she whispered.

Beca froze; it was as if her entire blood flow froze with the frost in the air and a million daggers were thrust at the same organ inside her chest. She couldn't understand; she ran through all the memories they shared, desperately searching for some kind of flaw she must have had because she knew Chloe wouldn't do this to her without some kind of a reason. If not, this was a sick joke. A sick, twisted joke.

Disturbed by the silence, Chloe looked at Beca with mixed concern, "Say something."

Beca tried but couldn't properly connect words in her mind. "Why?" she asked softly.

"Beca, it's not-"

"Why?" Beca yelled, jumping to her feet.

Chloe looked at Beca with the same clear, light blue eyes she has grown to trust and love over the course of their relationship. Now, the only thing Beca could discern from the same eyes was that Chloe was about to betray her and leave her alone to deal with the pain.

"I've been seeing someone else for a while now."

Beca inhaled sharply. Another blinding pain tore through her chest; it was like someone punched her in the gut twice. It wasn't enough that Chloe wanted to break it off but she had to go behind her back and cheat on her too.

"Who is it?" she asked in a quiet fury.

"Beca, you don't know-"

"Goddammit, Chloe! Just tell me who the fuck it is!" she yelled, clenching her fists.

Chloe's eyes widened at Beca's unusual use of profanity and looked back down to her hands, "His name is Tom. He's a senior and we decided to go to Barden together."

Beca's head was swimming in a flurry of mixed emotions. _Decided. They were planning this together._ Her knuckles turned white as her whole body shook. "Did I do something wrong?" she whispered, her voice breaking. She looked at Chloe trying to choke back her tears.

Chloe's heart broke at the sight. It was the first time she had ever seen her girlfriend have such deep pain etched into every feature of her face. Her hands covered her mouth as her own tears spilled over.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Beca," she cried, she rose from the bench and ran back in the direction from where they came. Beca watched her ex-girlfriend run away from her, crumbling the last bits of her heart that remained.

"Chloe," she whispered with tears streaking down her eyes.

_3 years later_

Chloe was standing next to Aubrey at the activities fair, trying to get people to sign up to join the Barden Bellas. Things weren't looking great; not even Baloney Barb wanted to join even though she auditioned for the past 3 years. It was all because of Aubrey puking on the stage of the ICCA finals. They were now the laughing stock of all acapella groups.

Later, a girl named Fat Amy was performing her mermaid dancing on the floor after she took a flyer. Chloe thought she saw a familiar head of brown hair wander in the distance but she was doubtful of the face that came up in her mind. Instead, she concentrated on the mermaid dancing Fat Amy was still doing and was trying to get her to leave. She couldn't bear to be more embarrassed than she already was.

"Beca?" Aubrey shouted.

Chloe's eyes whipped up and rested on the lone figure Aubrey was gawking at. Her eyes widened. She was right. There she was; the same girl who held her heart but who was also the source of her guilt because of her mistakes. The same girl wore headphones around her neck with various ear piercings and multiple tattoos staining her skin. Beca changed drastically over the years, but the change was…incredibly sexy. Chloe struggled not to drool over Beca's new look.

Beca looked over to the pair and approached them, donning a causal smirk.

"Hey, it's been a while," she said, greeting Aubrey with a hug. Chloe saw Beca flick her eyes towards her but turned back to Aubrey. Beca was trying not to look at her and it was like putting salt on her wounds. Trying to hide the pain on her face, Chloe looked down to the floor instead.

"Yeah, you look completely different from how you were in high school. What are those horrible ear monstrosities in your ears?" Aubrey demanded, pointing to the spike.

"Oh, these?" Beca said, running her fingers over her ears, "I thought they looked cool so I got them pierced. You know, you never liked anything I did anyways, so I'm gonna try not to take you seriously."

Chloe was slightly surprised that the two were holding a normal conversation. Even in high school, she often had to act as a mediator with how often they used to argue with each other.

Aubrey laughed, "So, what brings you here to Barden? Last time I checked you weren't really interested in going to college."

"I wasn't planning to but I got into something I couldn't get out of so," Beca sighed, running her fingers through her hair, "here I am."

Aubrey nodded at her remark, "Anyways, if you're here at the activities fair then you must be looking to join a club right? Why don't you join the Barden Bellas? We're an all-girls acapella group and we compete in national competitions every year hosted by the ICCA."

Aubrey handed Beca a flier, which she glanced over with immediate disinterest. "This is like a thing now, right? Sorry, but I was trying to look into something else. It was nice meeting you again though."

Beca briskly walked away after giving Aubrey another hug and was soon lost in the crowd. Chloe looked up again to see Aubrey staring intently at her. "I thought you said you made up with her," she said seriously.

Chloe opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. Seeing the pain in her best friend's eyes, Aubrey dropped the subject for now and concentrated on getting more potential members.

Beca held her phone closely to her ear, her hand gripping it almost to the breaking point.

"Jesse. I met her," she said through gritted teeth.

"_Who?"_ came the voice of her best friend who came to college with Beca.

Beca sighed, not wanting to say the name out loud. "Chloe."

"_Oh,"_ Jesse said after a brief silence over the phone. Beca knew she had a chance of seeing Chloe again after being sucked into a deal with her dad that she would come try attending Barden for a year in return that if she still didn't like college, he would pay all her expenses for going to L.A. to be a DJ. But one thing Beca didn't expect was that she would see Chloe immediately after arriving at Barden. It was like the world wasn't going to give her a break anytime soon.

"_Where are you now?"_

"I'm walking by the group of cheerleaders in the quad," she said as she winked at one of the cheerleaders with brown hair who was giving her a flirty smile.

"_Alright, I was going to check out the gym and work out for a bit. You wanna come with?"_

Beca thought about it for a second; she hated the idea of exerting more energy than necessary but she was so pissed off that she thought a good run would keep her mind off her ex.

"Yeah, sure. I'll meet you outside in 15 minutes," she grunted, ending the call with Jesse.

Beca grimaced at the thought that she had to stop by her dorm and grab some workout clothes, risking another unpleasant encounter with her roommate. Luckily, when she popped her head in to the room, Kimmy Jin wasn't there. _Probably still out at the activities fair_.

Beca quickly opened her suitcase, changed into light clothing, and walked to where the gym was. She met Jesse by the entrance and together, they entered the building and got on two adjacent treadmills and began to run at a steady pace.

With earphones plugged in, Beca zoned out and found herself dwelling in a peaceful state of mind with her own personal mixes blaring in her ears. She was going at it for a good half an hour when she noticed that Jesse wasn't running beside her anymore. Beca looked around and saw her best friend on the bench press, trying to impress some of the girls around him by putting on more weights than he could handle.

Beca rolled her eyes and got off the treadmill and made her way over to one of the multiple weight machines placed around the gym. She was making quick work of her biceps when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and saw the same brunette cheerleader she saw out in the quad. Instead of the cheerleading outfit she last saw, the girl wore a ponytail and nothing else but a sports bra and spandex shorts.

"Hi, I'm Kimberly" she greeted with the same flirtatious smile.

"Beca."

"You don't look like a person who works out," she commented.

"Well, you don't seem to be a suspicious person but if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were stalking me," Beca retorted sarcastically.

"Touché," she said smiling, "So, are you a freshman here?"

"Yeah, what's it to you?"

"Nothing, I just thought I could give one of my fellow underclassmen a welcome invitation to a party tonight but that's only if you're interested, of course."

Beca took a step forward, forcing Kimberly to take a startled step back, effectively trapping her between her body and the weight machine. She gingerly pulled the girl to her by the waist and held her pinned.

"Don't underestimate me, Kim. I might be short but you don't know what you're in for."

Kim's breath hitched in her throat, "Wouldn't dream of it."

Beca leaned in, breathing huskily over the cheerleader's neck all the way up to her ear. "And I'd love to come," she whispered, smirking as she saw Kim visibly shudder at her words.

Kim stared at Beca's eyes, glancing down at her lips with her own smoky, lust-filled eyes. She didn't know what it was about this freshman that instantly made her wet but she was all too eager to find out.

"Beca!" a voice shouted from across the room. They both looked up to see Jesse with all his things gathered and about to leave.

"I'm gonna go back to the quad. You still up for looking for internships?" he shouted.

"Yeah, just give me a minute." Beca turned back to Kim, still having the same smirk on her face, "So, I'll see you tonight?"

Kim smiled, "Of course," she pulled Beca closer and reached to the waistband of her shorts and stuck a note with her number and address of the party in it. "Just text me when you get there and I'll meet you outside," she said leaning in and kissing Beca on the cheek.

"You know it," Beca winked.

Beca left the gym and met Jesse who was leaning against the wall of the building outside and together they walked back to the quad to look for anything that had to do with music.

"So, you and that girl looked pretty close," he said, trying to hold in his amusement.

"Yeah, she invited me to a party tonight," she said, pulling out the note from the edge of her shorts.

Jesse's mouth was gaping open with jealousy burning in his eyes, "You wanna come with? You might actually get a girl this time," Beca chuckled.

Jesse elbowed Beca in the arm, "Not funny, dude. How is it that you get more girls than me? You don't exactly have the most enticing personality to be around."

Beca simply laughed, taking his comment as a compliment as they signed up for an internship at a local radio station. She couldn't hold in her anticipation as she imagined working late shifts, playing her many mixes for the public to enjoy. However, her fantasy was quickly interrupted.

"Oh, did I tell you that I'm gonna audition for the Treblemakers?"

"What?" she yelled, getting eyed by people passing by, "You're getting into that organized nerd singing too? Jesse, this is why girls don't like you!"

He shrugged, "It sounds pretty cool and I hear there's an all-girls group too. You should join and we can see which one of us is the better singer."

Beca sighed, rubbing her eyes, "The Bellas? That's where I had the great fortune of meeting Aubrey and Chloe again."

Jesse opened his mouth in surprise. "I didn't know Chloe could sing."

"Neither did I but apparently there was a lot of things I didn't know about her," she said solemnly.

Her best friend hung an arm around her shoulder. "Cheer up, dude. We'll go to that party tonight, get wasted, and we'll leave an unforgettable memory for the chicks we bang tonight," he said in an attempt to cheer her up.

Beca chuckled softly as they started walking back to their dorms. They went their separate ways as their dorm building were right next to each other. When she got back to her room, she was immediately thankful that Kimmy Jin still didn't come back. She didn't want to feel the Asian girl glaring at her; the first time was enough for her.

Beca opened her laptop and worked on her mixes, unsuccessfully getting much done. Instead, she sat on her desk watching the light fade over the horizon as she began living through old memories of how her love wasn't enough for the person who she thought was the love of her life.

The bass shook Beca's body as it thumped loudly in the distance. Beca and Jesse approached the sigma beta theta building that was printed on the address of her note.

_I'm almost there, you gonna meet me?_

_I'll be waiting ;)_

She drew out a long sigh, watching her breath freeze in the cold autumn air. Beca wasn't really in the mood for a party but it was better than staying in her room and getting countless death glares from her amazing roommate.

"Hey, you want to make a bet?" Jesse challenged with a spring in his step.

Beca smirked; he always seemed to come up with the stupidest ideas. "What is it this time?"

"Let's see which one of us can kiss the most girls."

I laughed. "Jesse, I'm not doing this, not tonight."

"What? Is the big badass scared of losing?" he teased, putting Beca in a playful headlock.

She elbowed him in the gut. "Yeah, 'cause you've been so successful in hooking up with girls for the past five years," she said sarcastically, watching him over exaggerate the "pain" he was in.

"Hey, I'm just going through a rough patch right now," he pouted.

"That's been going on for your whole life," she added, laughing.

They continued joking around until they reached the front porch of Sigma Beta Theta's residence. Kim bounded towards Beca and linked her arm around the brunette's as a form of greeting. Then, Beca had an idea of her own and smirked devilishly.

"Kim," she said.

"Hmm?" Kim responded but was shortly cut off by the DJ sweeping in and capturing the cheerleader's lips with her own. Kim moaned in surprised but quickly moved her lips against Beca's in a battle for dominance. Kim's fingers clutched Beca's hair as her other arm held her neck to keep her in close premises. Beca traced her tongue on the bottom of Kim's lips in a request for entrance and she eagerly deepened the kiss when the cheerleader complied. Kim was the first to break away in a need for oxygen and she panted lightly as she leaned against Beca's neck.

Jesse stood idly by with his mouth gaping open in shock. Without Kim aware of Beca's intention, Beca held up her middle finger and mouthed a "one" saying that she was accepting Jesse's challenge and already claimed her first victim.

Jesse snapped out of his trance and a look of amusement and determination crossed his eyes as he licked his lips and nodded.

Kim grabbed Beca by the hand and led her in the house and immediately led them towards the dance floor. Already, people were sloppily grinding against each other due to the effects of the alcohol passed around. Beca wasn't in the mood to dance at the moment but she let the cheerleader push her toned ass up against her crotch.

Kim could already tell the Beca wasn't in the same mood she was, so she turned around and ran her fingers down the length of the brunette's body and cupped her ass. She leaned against Beca's ear, whispering low and sultry. "Baby, don't be like that. Give me what I want, 'cause I know you want it too."

A spark ignited a flame in the pit of Beca's stomach as she whipped the cheerleader around and started grinding against her hard. Kim moaned and quickly started to dance around the rhythm and beats of the song. Beca grabbed the cheerleader's hips as they moved against each other, occasionally rubbing the skin in slow circles on the skin beneath her shirt. Kim's hand slid up Beca's neck and pulled her down. Beca leaned in and laid open mouthed kisses on the cheerleader's neck, peppering her skin with light nips and harsh sucking and biting. There was sure to be bruises on the girl's neck the next morning but Beca could care less.

Kim moaned in response and reached behind and grabbed Beca's ass, bringing her in closer so she could grind harder. There was a burning ache in Beca's core that couldn't be quenched and Kim only added fuel to the fire.

The cheerleader got up from the dance and pulled a nearby chair next to her. She pushed Beca on to the chair, almost pushing her onto the floor. Kim straddled Beca's lap and started grinding slow, linking Beca's fingers with hers so that the shorter girl couldn't move. People around them hooted in approval, pushing Kim to go bolder and show off her moves. Beca was enjoying her lap dance as the cheerleader bounced up and down, following the beat with her hips.

Despite how much her lust was growing, the sadness in Beca's heart wouldn't leave her. The ache in her chest outmatched her desire in a moment's notice. Beca closed her eyes and instead of the brown hair in front of her eyes she imagined red fiery locks cascading down in waves. She had no interest for the green eyes drowned in lust. In their place, Beca could see with her mind's eye bright blue iridescent orbs that once peered into her soul. Beca's mind was consumed with thoughts of Chloe and how she remembered everything she used to be.

Chloe groaned in complaint as Aubrey was dragging her by the hand to the loud bass-thumping house two blocks down. Aubrey burst in her room 30 minutes ago telling the redhead to get dressed and practically commanding her that they were going to head out to a party. Chloe, the party animal, was unusually not in the mood to go drinking and hooking up with people and wanted to wrap herself with a blanket and eat a tub of ice cream while watching sappy romance movies all night.

"_Aubrey, why is it that you never listen to me?" she sighed, rummaging through her closet._

"_Because I'm your best friend and it's my job to get you back to normal when you're acting abnormally," she stated while leaning against the doorframe of Chloe's room. _

"_Who said I was acting abnormally?"_

_Aubrey rolled her eyes. "Ever since you saw Beca at the activities fair, you've been quiet and moping around. Happy people like you don't do that so we're going to go out and have some fun."_

Chloe gave another sigh as they both walked into the alcohol laden atmosphere. People were already getting drunk off their asses, acting like animals with cups of beer in their hands. In the corner, she saw her old ex-boyfriend, Tom, making out with some dark-haired chick. Chloe scrunched her nose in disgust and wondered what invaded her mind to actually date a jerk like him.

Aubrey and Chloe made their way over to the keg and poured themselves a drink. Aubrey downed her cup in one go in an effort to let go of all the stress she had during the day and quickly refilled her cup. Chloe, however, remained looking down at the cup and swirled around its contents, having no desire of drinking the bubbly liquid. She was about to set the cup down on the table and leave when she saw two figures dancing in the middle of the room among the crowd of other drunk college students.

She gasped as a sharp pain tore through her chest. It was Beca and she was grinding against a blonde girl. It was as if Beca heard her because no sooner did the DJ look up and find the redhead staring at her. Confusion consumed Chloe. Beca was never one for overly personal physical contact and it surprised her to see the DJ comfortably touching and being touched.

_It was supposed to be a party that was mainly for the seniors. Beca's a freshman, how was she invited?_

Aubrey heard her best friend's gasp and in surprise, turned to see who she was staring at. "Is that Beca?" she questioned in disbelief.

Chloe couldn't say a word. Neither of them could tear their gaze apart from each other when suddenly, the blonde girl grabbed the back of Beca's neck and brought her lips crashing against each other's while they continued to grind. They continued their wet lip lock when another brunette dancing next to them grabbed Beca's jacket and pulled her aside for a kiss of her own.

Chloe recognized the brunette as the head cheerleader who was notorious for sleeping around with both girls and guys. She must've taken interest in Beca and invited her to the party. While still making out with the brunette, Beca held out seven fingers in the air and Chloe looked across the room to see Jesse standing next to a random girl. Jesse looked angry as his eyes darted back down to the girl he was apparently trying to seduce.

Chloe realized then that they were doing some competition to see who gets the most girls. This wasn't the Beca she knew in high school. The Beca she knew was hesitant about any invasion of personal space and had a hard exterior protecting her from any harm. From the time they got to know each other, Chloe found out that the DJ was a secret romantic who did anything she could to ensure happiness for the people she cared for.

The redhead looked back to Beca and saw the DJ staring at her while she continued to grind against the cheerleader. Chloe's heart constricted with pain, she couldn't help feel responsible and guilty for Beca's drastic shift in attitude.

Beca saw her ex-girlfriend staring at her and she wanted to test her, to see how far she could push Chloe until she could see her break. She didn't want to show her any mercy, no sign of compassion or sympathy, just like what Chloe did on the night when she left her. Then, a brilliant idea crossed her mind and Beca relished in the fact that it would cause her ex-girlfriend pain. The DJ thought that torturing Chloe was the best route to dealing with the sorrow she felt a moment ago.

Beca delighted herself and toyed with the idea until she had the plan fully laid out in her mind. She closed her eyes and grinned now fully enjoying the buzz of the alcohol coursing through her veins and the hot girl grinding against her crotch. The corner of her lip curled into a smile as she grinded more forcefully on the brunette she was dancing on. The girl moaned and she pressed her back against Beca's abdomen, grabbing the back of her neck and bringing her lips down to meet hers in a hot feud. Their tongues danced a waltz for dominance until the brunette conceded and fell under the submission of the DJ.

Beca looked up and Chloe was in the same position she was when Beca closed her eyes and she was still staring. Beca smirked while looking at her then to send her a message she grabbed a handful of the cheerleader's hair and pulled her into her body.

"Outside. Now," Beca commanded into the cheerleader's ear.

The brunette groaned and nodded with a dazed look in her eyes. She followed when Beca pulled her out of the house and led her outdoors. Beca promptly pushed the cheerleader up against a nearby tree that was partly hidden by the darkness. She gripped her wrists and pressed it against the bark. Beca dove in and kissed Kim; her tongue fully exploring and pushing the girl into submission. Kim whimpered and moaned into Beca's mouth, feeling completely vulnerable to the whims of the DJ.

Beca broke the kiss and pressed more kisses on the cheerleader's jaw all the way up to her ear.

"I told you that you shouldn't underestimate me," she whispered as she sucked on the brunette's earlobe.

Kim groaned and arched her back, hoping to gain more contact. Beca pressed her thigh into the junction of the cheerleader's legs as she let go of Kim's arms to explore the skin beneath the girl's shirt. The skin felt tantalizingly soft. Beca pushed Kim's bra out of the way, grabbing hold of the cheerleader's nipples and rolling them and pinching them lightly.

Kim couldn't stop the endless moans escaping her mouth and the fact that people could hear her and see them made her twice as wet. Her breath hitched in her throat as Beca leaned in and started sucking and biting her neck again. Kim whimpered as Beca grated her teeth over her pulse point. Her fingers wove through the DJ's hair, bringing her impossibly closer. She knew that her neck was going to be bruised all over but the pleasure ruled out her judgment.

Beca expertly undid the cheerleader's jeans and plunged her hand in as her fingers sought the wet entrance she desired. Her fingers ran up and down Kim's wet folds and occasionally brushed against the straining bundle of nerves. Kim whimpered insistently.

"Beca, don't tease me. Give it to me, fuck me hard," she panted.

Beca didn't wait any longer and pushed three fingers into Kim, her thumb simultaneously rubbing against her clit. The cheerleader gasped and moved against Beca's fingers, trying to get them deeper in her. The DJ thrusted hard and fast while she sucked on Kim's nipple, nipping and rolling it around with her tongue.

"Fuck!" Kim gasped, throwing her head back in pleasure. Her legs wrapped around Beca's waist while she grasped the tree behind her for leverage.

Beca could feel the cheerleader's orgasm coming in fast. She trailed kisses down Kim's stomach until she reached her clit and drew it in, sucking softly and pushing against it with her tongue. Kim moaned loudly, her chest heaving with irregular breaths.

"I'm so close, baby, so close…" she begged. Beca thrusted harder producing simultaneous moans as she pushed in. She could feel the cheerleader's muscles convulsing as Beca curled her fingers up. With that, Beca pushed Kim over the edge as Kim's mouth opened and her eyes widened as her orgasm came crashing down. Her fingers clutched at the DJ's hair, digging into her scalp while holding Beca in place. The cheerleader screamed Beca's name at the peak of her orgasm, unable to hold back her voice with the force of her pleasure.

Beca trailed her tongue down from Kim's clit to lap up all the juices that gushed out of the cheerleader. The DJ felt Kim shiver with the last remnants of her climax as Beca finished cleaning Kim up.

Beca kissed Kim long and deep, letting her taste herself on the DJ's tongue before slowly placing the cheerleader on her feet. Kim leaned against Beca's chest, unable to hold herself up with her own legs.

Beca knew that having sex with the head cheerleader should make her feel smug and arrogant but all she could feel was the same sadness she thought she extinguished.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Sorry for the really late update. Who knew that balancing school, basketball, and writing could be so hard...well i'll try to update at least once a week, if not sooner. Thanks for the reviews and I hope you enjoy!**

"Chloe, wait!" Beca cried, trying to catch up with the redhead, but her girlfriend merely sped up and continued to ignore the DJ.  
"Damn it, Chlo." With a burst of power from her legs, Beca grabbed hold of Chloe's arm and whipped her around, backing her up against the fence that bordered the baseball field. The frustration pent up in Beca dissipated when she saw the angry tears lining her girlfriend's eyes.  
"What?" Chloe snapped but she immediately regretted it when she saw Beca flinch.  
"I just…tell me what's wrong instead of walking away from me," Beca spoke softly, her eyes pleading. The redhead knew that she was being unfair to Beca but she couldn't help but feel that her girlfriend was drifting away and had taken interest in another girl.  
"Why are you always with her?" Chloe demanded.  
"Who?" Beca asked, genuinely confused.  
"You know who! Grace, that cheerleader you're always with!"  
A look of recognition crossed Beca's face, "Her? We're friends; I don't see what the big deal is."  
Chloe crossed her arms and glared, "So, it's not a big deal that you're blowing off your own girlfriend so you can spend more time with her?"  
Beca raised an eyebrow. "Chlo, I only see Grace during Nutrition and sometimes afterschool and most of the time, we're in the library working on our project."  
"…project?" Chloe repeated in confusion.  
Beca rolled her eyes and sighed, "I told you we we're going to work on a project last week. Were you not listening again?"  
Chloe grimaced. Lately, her energy was being drained by the end of the day with all the work she had to do as a senior and being the head cheerleader. Beca must have told her when they were together but she was probably dozing off when she did.  
"Then why is she always touching you?"  
Beca held Chloe's hand and shrugged, giving the smirk the redhead always loved, "I don't know. She must be like you, I guess. You did barge into my shower and scare me to death after softball practice."  
The memory made Chloe smile; it was only because she heard someone singing her lady jam in the middle of cheerleading practice.  
"And if it makes you feel better," Beca continued, "we finished the project today, so I don't think we're going to meet anytime soon. If we do, I'll tell her to stop brushing up against me so much."  
Chloe drew Beca in for a tight hug, realizing the extent of how much she was overreacting. "I'm sorry," she whispered into the DJ's ear.  
Beca chuckled, "It's okay. I think it's cute that my hot girlfriend got jealous over this mediocre cheerleader."  
"Shut up!" Chloe laughed but was briefly interrupted as Beca lips embraced hers. Chloe leaned back into the fence, the metal clinking in response. It was a soft kiss full of tenderness as their hands wove together. Chloe could feel her pulse pounding through her body and she could feel her legs melt from under her. Beca broke the kiss and looked deeply into Chloe's bright blue eyes. The redhead could feel fresh tears form in her eyes from the magnitude of love she saw in the DJ's dark blue eyes.  
"I love you, Chloe. And I know I'm not too good with feelings, so whenever something's bothering you I need you to tell me because most of the time, I probably won't catch it."  
Chloe nodded, kicking herself mentally for ever doubting her girlfriend's faithfulness. Beca smiled in response and gave her a quick kiss. "Want to go home now?" Beca asked, holding out her hand.  
Chloe couldn't respond and stood there stunned because in that moment, she swore Beca looked like an angel with the way her brown hair glowed under the light of the sun and the way her smile multiplied the brightness a thousand times greater. Chloe was a science girl and all her objective thinking quickly disappeared as she marveled at how her girlfriend's beauty dominated over the elegance of what an angel would have.  
Beca furrowed her brows in concern at the redhead's silence, "Is something wrong?"  
Chloe shook her head and smiled, "Nothing. Let's go home." The redhead took Beca's hand and gave the DJ a peck on the cheek.  
"Oh and you should really stop being so hard on Grace in cheer leading practice. I think she's scared of you now." The couple burst out laughing and continued to make their way home.

* * *

Chloe lay awake in her room, getting lost in this particular memory of high school when she and Beca began dating. When they first met as friends, it was the biggest challenge to get Beca to open herself up to her and it took a lot of effort to tear down the DJ's badass facade to get to the real Beca. Underneath the layers of coldness and steel walls around the brunette's heart, Chloe found the tender, sweet side of the DJ who was fiercely protective of everyone she cared about.  
Tears sprung to her eyes when she thought about how she ruined Beca with her mistakes and the possibility that she might never get to witness the love Beca once had for her. She quickly swiped the tear rolling down her cheek; she cried enough for the past three years and she was tired.  
The alarm blared next to her, screaming that it was 8:00. Chloe sighed. She was up the whole night thinking about Beca and running through memories of their past relationship. Chloe numbly smacked the snooze button and peeled the blanket off of her, getting out of bed. Padding down the hall, the redhead made her way to the kitchen and saw Aubrey sipping at her coffee by the counter while reading the daily newspaper.  
"Morning," Aubrey greeted.  
"Morning."  
Chloe made her way to the coffee pot, pouring herself a cup. Meanwhile, Aubrey was staring at her like a hawk getting ready to dive in for its prey.  
"Chloe," Aubrey started, "are we going to talk about last night?"  
The redhead stayed silent and merely shook her head in denial. Aubrey hated the state her best friend was in because ever since their high school graduation, Chloe was never the same as she always was. She could see the sadness and guilt that edged its way into the redhead's eyes but no matter how many times she asked, Chloe always shook her head and reassured her that nothing was wrong.  
"You can't keep running-"  
"I think I'm going to go down to the café," Chloe interrupted as she walked back to her room and changed her clothes. She grabbed her books and her bag from her desk and made her way outside the apartment. Aubrey solemnly watched her best friend leave without another word, wondering when the redhead was finally going to tell her the truth.  
There was only one person who could put her in this state and Aubrey mentally declared that she would talk to that person.

* * *

Beca roused from her sleep with a headache pounding in the back of her skull and a fluttering pain in her chest. She moaned at the sight of bright sunlight filtering through the window and shifted away, thinking that it would relieve some of the pain but of course it didn't. The DJ sat up in bed recalling all the events that happened last night. She scanned the room, looking for the cheerleader but only found a note lying next to her on the pillow.

_Last night was fun. We should do it again sometime._  
_626-583-6472_  
_Just in case you get lonely at night_  
_Kim_

Beca chuckled at the lipstick printed on the piece of paper; she wished all one night stands were as easy to get rid of as Kim was. The DJ glanced at her clock seeing that it was an hour until noon. She groaned, she missed her morning class and it was the first day of her classes too. Beca sighed; she was already making a bad impression of herself.  
The brunette got up and immediately went to her laptop. Beca opened all her mixing programs on her laptop and began working on her latest work. An hour flew by unnoticed while she was putting two songs together when she felt a pang of hunger in her stomach. Realizing she had to stop and eat something or else she'd starve to death, the DJ saved her work and closed all her programs.  
Beca rummaged through her drawer for a white bottle. The medication inside clacked as she opened the bottle and popped one pill in her mouth and swallowed it without water. The brunette rose from her desk, grabbed her keys, and headed out the door.  
She heard Jesse talk about a popular cafe a few blocks down and he surprisingly managed to get the brunette to take some interest. Beca promptly arrived and went inside, examining the establishment as she waited in line. She could see why it was popular; it wasn't that big but it had a homey atmosphere that instantly welcomed you in.  
The DJ ordered a sandwich and a bottle of water. When she got her food, she looked around to find an open table but frowned when she saw none. A flaming head of hair in the corner of the room caught her eye. Squinting her eyes, she realized that it was Chloe sitting by herself reading some books. Beca smirked; maybe she could toy with the redhead to burn off time.  
Beca made her way over and plopped down on the chair opposite from Chloe. Startled, the redhead's eyes whipped up to find the source of the sudden intrusion of privacy and was surprised to see the DJ making herself comfortable in her seat. She didn't know whether to be pleasantly surprised or expect the worst.  
"I hear this place makes the best sandwiches," Beca commented casually.  
"Umm, yeah..." Chloe trailed off, unsure of what to do.  
The DJ glanced up at her with a smirk and clear amusement in her eyes. Chloe gasped softly, it was like she was living through a memory in her past. The Beca right in front of her eyes seemed too much like the old Beca and it brought on nostalgic memories.  
"What are you reading?" she asked, nodding at the book in front of the redhead as she took a bite of her sandwich.  
"Oh, it's umm books I need to read for my organic chemistry class," Chloe stammered.  
The brunette nodded slowly, chewing as she examined the book. "You were always into science," the DJ spoke solemnly.  
The nervous look that Chloe donned faded into soft eyes as she stared at the small girl in front of her. "You remember," she whispered.  
The point of the conversation deeply confused the redhead but she knew they had to talk eventually. She took comfort in the fact that the DJ didn't start yelling at her out of the blue though.  
"Why are you here, Beca?" Chloe asked.  
"Because I was hungry and now I'm eating a sandwich to sate that hunger."  
"You know what I mean," the redhead pushed. She could see the brunette hesitate for a split second before breaking into her trademark smirk.  
"Why? You don't want me here? Are you having a hard time because of me?"  
Chloe looked down; it's not like she was wrong. Beca's arrival had made her feel more guilty than she felt in the past years, but that wasn't the reason.  
"No, I mean you were pretty adamant in not going to college, and you wanted to head off to L.A. after you graduated instead. What happened?"  
"A lot of things happen in three years. None of which is your business anymore," Beca stated, a tinge of anger seeping into her voice.  
Chloe slowly nodded, hurt from her comment but she understood why Beca said it. "I had your dad as my literature professor last year. You never told me he worked here," the redhead said, trying to change the subject. Chloe immediately regretted it as she saw the brunette tense and her eyes darken at the mention of her father.  
"Don't talk to me about him," she said harshly with a mixture of anger and hatred burning in her eyes. With the sudden change in demeanor, the redhead felt a spark of fear bloom in her chest. She decided that it was better to back off on the subject.  
They stayed silent for a moment, Beca's body still hunched over like a tense coil. The DJ broke out of her haze and noticed a piece of paper sticking out of Chloe's book and yanked it out.  
"What's this?" Beca said, feigning interest, "Bella auditions?" the classic smirk reappeared on her face as she read the paper. "I was thinking about joining. You think if I join I can have a chance with Aubrey?"  
Chloe's mouth gaped open. Had she heard what she thought she heard? "You...like Aubrey?" the redhead gasped.  
Beca shook her head, chuckling darkly, "You must be kidding; she wouldn't be bad for a good fuck though."  
"Beca," Chloe exclaimed, astounded by the brunette's attitude, "how can you say something like that? She's my best friend."  
The DJ leaned forward looking straight into the redhead's eyes, "You think I give a shit about whether she's your best friend or not? Sex is sex and the best kind is the one with no strings attached."  
Beca laughed at the shocked expression that crossed her ex-girlfriend's face. "Well," she sighed, standing up and picking up her tray, "it was great talking to you. We should definitely do it again sometime."  
Chloe stared at the DJ walking away, but noticed that she wasn't the only one looking at the figure walking away.

* * *

Auditions were being held in the auditorium and everyone interested had to try out with their own rendition of Kelly Clarkson's Since You've Been Gone. Usually, Chloe would have been the voice of optimism contrasted against Aubrey's pessimism, but if this continued, the future of the Bellas was looking pretty bad. However, she didn't let it show and kept the same smile plastered on her face while her best friend donned a blatant frown.  
With the last candidate finishing the last note with a piercing off key wail, the auditions were officially over. Chloe closed the folder that held all the information of the people who auditioned and sighed in exhaustion and a bit in disappointment. She expected Beca to show up like she said she would but the brunette was probably_ occupied_. Chloe grabbed all her things and stood up, ready to leave.  
"Beca!" Aubrey greeted, looking over at the exit.  
Her best friend waved her over and the brunette tentatively approached the stage, "I didn't know we had to prepare that song."  
"That's okay. You can sing anything you want," Aubrey reassured with a smile.  
The friendliness that passed between them twisted the redhead's gut into a black ball of jealousy. Beca approached them, kneeling and motioned if she could get the cup in front on the table.  
Aubrey handed the yellow cup to Beca although thoroughly confused at the brunette's motives. The DJ sat down on the stage and began creating a beat with the cup and started clapping her hands.

_I've got my ticket for long way 'round_  
_Two bottles of whisky for the way_  
_And I sure would like some sweet company_  
_Oh, I'm leaving tomorrow, what do you say?_

_When I'm gone, When I'm gone_  
_You're gonna miss me when I'm gone_

Beca stared at Chloe while she sang, a hidden mixture of sadness and anger nestled behind her eyes.

_You're gonna miss me by my hair_  
_You're gonna miss me everywhere, oh_  
_you're gonna miss me when I'm gone_

For a while, the pair remained staring at each other. The performance was nothing short of amazing and the song clearly displayed what the brunette felt. However, the redhead couldn't tell whether she should look forward to having Beca part of the group or to dread the fact that the brunette would have at trying to hurt her.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Soo I've been doing some major plot changing this past month and now I'm moving forward with the story! Thanks again for the reviews and I'll keep you posted with the next update!**

After another uneventfully boring day of dragging herself through classes, Beca was sitting at her desk relieving her stress of the day by working on her mixes. It was past 11 o'clock and the DJ was busy getting lost inside the music in her head when she heard a thunderous pounding on the door. Sliding her headphones down her ears, she swiveled her chair around to see if Kimmy Jin had any clue who it was but the girl's only reaction was to glare at the brunette. Beca sighed and got up; obviously she wanted her to get the door. She cautiously turned the knob and opened the door only to see a flash of blonde locks before a bag was thrown over her head.

"Hey! What the fuck?!" Beca yelled, fighting against the stranger for a minute.

"Shh! Calm down, it's only me," a voice soothed. The brunette recognized it to belong to Aubrey but her confusion sent her a long way off from calming down when her wrists were being firmly restrained.

"Aubrey, what the hell do you think you're doing? This is considered kidnapping!" she hissed as she felt the ends of the bag tighten around her neck.

"No, what I'm doing is taking you to the initiation of the new organization you're a part of and plus, I already told your roommate what I'm doing. Therefore, I have a witness that what I'm doing is, in fact, not illegal."

Beca groaned. So Kimmy Jin would have potentially left her to die without any form of protest. Fantastic. She didn't even get to save the mix she was working on.

"There!" Aubrey said after tying Beca's hands together with an elastic band, "Now lets go or else we're going to be late."

The brunette scoffed, "Yeah, wouldn't want that."

The sarcasm earned her a push from behind, "Just keep moving."

With Aubrey manhandling the brunette, they left the dorm building. "Any chance you're going to tell me where we're going? Or am I going to have to risk potentially going missing?"

The blonde chuckled, "No way. The whole point of this is that it's supposed to be a secret."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I guess it isn't that bad being grappled by a hot blonde. We don't really need to go to this initiation thing do we? We can head back to your place and just...hang out." Beca felt a hard smack to the side of her head. "Ow! What the hell, Aubrey?"

"Don't you dare start, Beca Mitchell. I'm not playing any of your games."

The brunette smirked underneath the bag over her head. "And what games am I playing exactly?"

"The 'Chloe hurt me so I'm going to screw every girl I see just to hurt her.' And I'm not having any part of it."

Beca gritted her teeth. "Hey, it's not my fault that girls are throwing themselves on me," she tried to pass nonchalantly.

Silence nestled between them for a moment. "What happened to you, Beca? You're a far cry from the person I knew you to be 3 years ago," Aubrey asked, looking at the captive figure.

"Don't best friends tell each other everything? I bet she told you about what happened and you two had a blast laughing at me," she muttered sarcastically.

"Okay, first of all I would never laugh at someone else's misfortune and second, I always thought that you guys made up after what went down at graduation."

"Oh yeah, sure. If your version of making up is ignoring every text and phone call then yeah we made up a _long_ time ago," the brunette retorted bitterly.

"You know, you're not the only one who got hurt. Chloe had a really hard time when she broke up with her boyfriend."

Beca could feel her anger simmering as the bands constricting her wrists bit ferociously into her skin. "You think I want to hear about her fucking ex-boyfriend? I don't give a shit if he fucking hurt her or not."

It surprised the blonde how intimidating a person could be with a bag over their head until now. "It was more than just him hurting her, you know. He did something unbelievably cruel," Aubrey said solemnly, "and she wasn't hurt because he did something horrible but more the fact that you were affected in the end, and she can see how you changed because of her decisions."

"Well, maybe she had it coming to her," the DJ shrugged.

"You know what? You two have to fix this thing because I won't risk the success of the Bella's because you two are having a stupid fight," Aubrey snapped. "And just because she hurt you doesn't mean that you can't learn to forgive her."

Beca stayed silent for a moment grinding her teeth. "You want me to forgive her?," she asked incredulously, "after what, leaving me to bite the dust while she went off chasing after her dreams with some stupid frat boy? I don't think so. Everyone thought I was the one who was gonna fuck up our relationship but _she's_ the one who left, not me! Why do I have to swallow my fucking pride and hear people tell me to 'let it go?' I'm the victim here!"

Aubrey sighed in resignation glad that they were nearing the auditorium. "Just talk to her, Beca. You can deny it all you want but deep inside, you are hurt and I'm not telling you to put all the pain you felt behind but just try talking to her. And not sarcastic talk but real talk or else I will stick my 6 inch stilettos up your ass for hurting my best friend, and you _know_ I'm not bluffing."

The brunette shook her head and sighed in defeat, "You know she did something wrong and you're still defending her...that always amazed me about you, you always took her side."

Aubrey's heart softened at the sudden sweetness coming from the brunette. "This is the side of you that you should be showing Chloe, not me. You can't push her away forever and you know that. Judging from what you said right now, you still care about her."

"Or maybe I'm just saying it just so I can get inside her best friend's pants," Beca laughed, lightening up the tension in the air. "But seriously, maybe we can rethink that heel up my ass to something more sexy so we can really seal the deal," the brunette said smirking, which earned her another smack to the head. "Shit, dude! You're lucky I'm tied up right now or else you wouldn't dare try that again."

The blonde laughed freely. "A shorty like you threatening me? I don't think so."

The two made their way over to the auditorium in light conversation. Inside, the bag over Beca's head was ripped off and the bands holding wrists were cut . The brunette opened her eyes, cautiously adjusting them to the light and was face to face with a pair of sapphire gems. Remembering Aubrey's warning, Beca merely stared at the redhead and gave a small, almost invisible smile. The brunette thought it was going to pass unnoticed but she was proved wrong when the redhead mirrored the same gesture to Beca.  
The procession went on smoothly even though Beca was creeped out by the candles and the strange stench in the room. The brunette assumed that being part of an organization should feel like a second family but the weird oaths and rules kind of bypassed that.

After the whole initiation, the group went down to a party down at the amphitheater with all the other a cappella groups.

"I don't know what I'm doing here," Beca sighed.

A big blonde girl bounded in, answering her rhetorical question. "Living the dream. I still can't believe they let my sexy fat ass in."

The brunette chuckled and offered her hand, "I'm Beca."

The blonde accepted and shook hands, "Fat Amy repping AUSTRALIA!"

Beca laughed at the girl's enthusiasm. "You're cool, dude, but you call yourself 'Fat Amy?'"

"Yeah, so twig bitches like you don't do it behind my back."

Beca nodded slowly. "Nice."

"Well, as much as I'd love to stay and chat, there's a cooler filled with juice calling my name. I tell ya I can drink that stuff for hours and not feel a thing. See ya," Fat Amy said, saluting and leaving.

Right after Fat Amy left, Beca finally thought she would get some room to breathe until a busty brunette grabbed her hands and leaned in close. The DJ could already smell the alcohol coming off of her.

"Hi, I'm Stacy."

Beca cocked an eyebrow. "Beca."

"You're really cute. I thought so when I first laid eyes on you back at the initiation," Stacy flirted.

The DJ smirked. "You're not so bad yourself," she said, eyeing the brunette's body thoroughly.

"Thanks," she whispered in very close proximity of Beca's lips, "and I saw you at the party the other day. That was a really interesting game you were playing with that dude."

"And how did you know what we were doing?" Beca questioned curiously.

Stacy giggled. "Cuz I was one of the girls that he was trying to hit on, but I would've much preferred it if his much hotter friend came onto me instead," she said, rubbing the lengths of Beca's arms.

Beca's eyes darkened with lust, "Well, why waste anymore-"

"BECA!" a voice yelled. "BECAW!"

Stacy and Beca raised their eyes and saw Jesse approaching them slowly. Jesse noticed Stacy and his eyes brightened immediately.

"I should go, don't wanna be caught up in_ that_," she winked before kissing Beca's cheek.

Stacy left, all the while swinging her hips purposely as she made her way down the stairs. Beca looked after her, caught up in the brunette's spell of seduction until her best friend jumped in front of her, breaking the lustful gaze.

"Do my eyes deceive me? Are you a Barden Bella?"

Beca sighed in annoyance, "Dude, sometimes you can be a major cock block."

Jesse swayed and laughed a bit louder than necessary, "That's funny! It'd be so true if you actually had a dick."

The DJ rolled her eyes. Sometimes her best friend could be a little too much. "Are you drunk?" she teased.

"No," he slurred defiantly, "you're just really blurry right now."

Beca laughed. "You okay? You're not gonna fall over are you?" she said, pushing him lightly.

"Nope. I'm totally fine. See how I come right back?" he chuckled, swaying back and forth. "You know what? You're boring me, I think you need a drink. I'm gonna get you a drink so you can get on this level."

"Yeah, you do that," Beca dismissed as Jesse sauntered down to the cooler.

Beca made her way downstairs, pushing through the group of people dancing on each other. This was one of the things that made her hate parties; she was too short to effectively make her way through a crowd without getting hurt. Case in point, a sudden push from behind sent her stumbling, but she caught herself before she fell. However, it didn't stop a spell of dizziness to plague her. Beca staggered and shook her head, panting and gripping her forehead hoping that it would help but to no avail. She could feel her head pounding in her ears and everything in front of her seemed to blur into crazy staticky lines. Beca desperately tried to will her spinning world to stop but not until she collapsed into someone's arms.

"Beca? Are you okay?" the stranger asked with concern.

"Uh, yeah," she muttered, slowly opening her eyes and seeing that she fell into Aubrey. Well, she figured she had two things to be grateful for: that she felt better and at least she fell on someone she knew. Nonetheless, she hurriedly got off of the blonde and took a few deep breaths.

Aubrey watched Beca cautiously, taking note of her pale face, "Are you sure you're feeling okay?"

The DJ nodded. "Yeah, I just got thrown off by all these people," she smiled, hoping it'd be enough to fool the blonde. "I think I'm gonna go though before they all start stomping on me."

Aubrey gave a small laugh but her eyes still held a glint of wariness. "Alright, but remember to come to practice tomorrow morning."

Beca saluted. "Yes, ma'am. You're still acting like an army general, huh?"

The blonde rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Ok, I'm gonna go now," Beca said, slinking away. The DJ speed walked her way over to her dorm, grateful that she had a surplus of space to breathe in. Beca was anxious to return so that another episode wouldn't happen out in the open and another unfortunate soul wouldn't have to deal with her mess.

Beca opened the door to her dorm and saw that Kimmy Jin was sleeping, but she swore that the girl was part feline because Beca could see her glare glowing in the dark.

The brunette struggled to stop a shudder creep down her spine and quickly closed the door. She went to her desk and rummaged through her drawer, taking out a white pill bottle and popping a small pill in her mouth._ I knew I forgot something in the morning. _

Fatigued by her dizziness, Beca collapsed onto her bed and almost instantly fell asleep.

* * *

"Chloe!" Aubrey yelled, grabbing the dancing redhead's arm.

Chloe whipped her arm from Aubrey's grip, glaring at the blonde. "What do you want?" she snapped.

The blonde's eyes flashed with hurt as she retracted her hand. "What's wrong with you?"

Chloe continued to glare at her best friend. "Are you into Beca now? You know how I feel about her and you're still gonna go after her?" she demanded.

Aubrey tilted her head in confusion, "Chloe, what are you talking about?"

"Don't act like you don't know! I saw you hugging her. You know, if you were gonna make a move on her you could've at least have the decency to tell me first!" she yelled.

The blonde held her hands up in defense, looking around and seeing that they've gotten a few people as audiences. "I'll forgive you for yelling at me just this once but that's what I was coming to tell you about. I saw Beca about to collapse and I was there in time to catch her before she fell. She still didn't look too good though and I was thinking that maybe you should go to her dorm and check up on her to see if she's okay."

Chloe winced inwardly and lowered her gaze with guilt, "Sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you."

Aubrey smiled. "It's okay. It's natural to get jealous over the person you love."

Chloe blushed and looked away. "I think I'm going to go check up on Beca now," she muttered, "do you know where her dorm is?"

"It's in Baker Hall on the second floor, room 205. Don't stay too long though," Aubrey said with a wink.

Chloe turned a deeper shade of red before she took off for Beca's dorm. She knew that if Beca was awake her presence wouldn't be welcomed. Chloe could just imagine Beca snapping at her to get out of her room. Her heart thudded with nervousness but she forced herself to steel her will. The redhead decided that if the brunette was sick, she'd stay no matter how hard Beca pushed her out.

When she got there, Chloe tentatively knocked on the door. The redhead waited for a while until a small Asian girl opened the door.

"Hi, is Beca here?" Chloe asked politely.

The girl sighed in response and went back in the room. She grabbed a change of clothes and her backpack before she left, all the while complaining about "stupid white girls". The girl promptly left, leaving the door wide open.

Chloe took it as a twisted form of an invitation and walked inside, closing the door. She noticed a lump on the bed to the right and guessed that Beca was sound asleep. The redhead walked towards the bed and sat down right beside the brunette. Hoping that Beca wouldn't wake up, Chloe started stroking the brunette's hair. The redhead remembered discovering how much Beca seemed to love having her head petted. She also had forgotten how soft and silky the strands were and the smell of her conditioner that came with it.

Chloe smiled sadly and began to sing softly.

**_My pride, my ego, my needs and my selfish ways_**  
**_Caused a good strong woman like you to walk out my life_**  
**_Now I'll never, never get to clean out the mess I made_**  
**_And it haunts me every time I close my eyes_**  
**_It all just sounds like ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh_**

Chloe closed her eyes.

_The sunlight filtered through the window and an easy breeze drifted lazily into the room through the open window of Chloe's room._  
_"Baby, wake up," she heard as she groggily woke up from her slumber. The redhead opened her eyes and was greeted by a pool of dark blue._  
_Chloe smiled as she stared at Beca who was lying down next to her. Chloe stretched her arms out and moaned pleasantly. Startled at the feeling of her blanket unusually shifting against her skin, Chloe looked down and saw her naked state under the cover of her blankets. The redhead blushed deeply before pulling the covers right up to her chin. Suddenly, all the memories of what happened the night before came rushing into her head; it was their first time together._  
_Beca chuckled. "You are so adorable," she said tenderly. _  
_The embarrassment was too much for Chloe, which was unheard of for her. She was supposed to be the confident one, the 'proud of her body' one. Chloe pulled the covers over her head to prevent her lover from seeing her in this state. "Stop it," she whined, "You're not supposed to be so charming in the morning."_  
_Chloe knew Beca was smirking smugly. "Chlo," the brunette urged, "come on, come out from under there."_  
_The redhead shook her head vigorously. Beca smiled mischievously before pouncing on her girlfriend, straddling her waist and tickling the life out of her. Chloe shrieked in surprise, her laughter tumbling out in waves. _  
_"No! No! Stop!" she screamed, struggling with all her might to get the small but strong brunette off of her. "Stop, I'll get out!" Chloe promised and was relieved when the pressure against her skin disappeared. _  
_Chloe whipped the covers off her face and playfully glared at her girlfriend. _  
_"You are so beautiful," Beca whispered, her eyes filled with absolute adoration and tenderness. The genuine truth behind her words broke through all the mischief and melted Chloe's heart leaving her speechless. All the redhead could do in response was cup the brunette's cheek and guide her girlfriend's lips to meet her own. The kiss was gentle and sensual but never reached being passionate and lustful. It was a kiss that confirmed each other's feelings for the other; something that mere words couldn't explain yet a simple kiss could. They broke apart and continued staring at each other's eyes, diving through the window to their soul and exploring the intricacies of everything that categorized them as different. They continued to lay there in silence, playfully letting their fingers dance against the other's skin and basking in the morning light. The pair held the world by their fingertips for just a bit longer because they knew that soon, they would have to break out of their universe and answer the demands of the world. _  
_"I love you, Chlo. No matter what happens, I will always love you," Beca stated, her eyes certain and without a shadow of doubt. _  
_A tear leaked out of the corner of Chloe's eye. "Me too. I will never stop loving you."_

Chloe continued to serenade her sleeping beauty even though her heart was throbbing insistently.

**_Too young, too dumb to realize_**  
**_That I should have bought you flowers and held your hand_**  
**_Should have given all my hours when I had the chance_**  
**_Take you to every party cause all you wanted to do was dance_**  
**_Now my baby is dancing, but she's dancing with another man..._**


	4. Chapter 4

Chloe was sipping from her cup of coffee while reading the morning paper at the kitchen island when Aubrey walked out of her bedroom. Hair disheveled with dark blue bags under her bright eyes, the blonde dragged her feet across the living room to the kitchen.

"Hey, when'd you come in last night?" Aubrey yawned, heading straight for the coffee pot and pouring herself a cup.

"Around 1. Did you have a long night studying? ," Chloe asked, still running her eyes over the newspaper articles. She glanced over the crisp black and white paper and scoffed at another story of corrupted politicians and their ploy to scrap up more money from the public.

"Yeah, I have another exam on Monday," she sighed. The blonde cupped the warm mug and blew the white aromatic steam away from her, taking a tentative sip. She closed her eyes, savoring the taste and hummed in delight.

Conversation fell and the pair settled into a pleasant silence but the blonde was watching her best friend carefully while taking another sip of her coffee. She knew she was going to have to force information out of the redhead. "Since you're not saying anything, I'm going to take a wild guess and say talking with Beca went alright," she said, interrupting the calm quiet.

Chloe hesitated. "Well, I don't know about that, we weren't exactly talking."

"Oh my god," Aubrey gasped, her hand covering her closed eyes, "please don't tell me you guys had sex..."

"What? No!" Chloe squealed, dropping the newspaper and smacking the blonde's arm. "She was sleeping by the time I got there, so I just kind of looked after her." The redhead trailed off, dropping her gaze and absentmindedly circled her finger on the top of her mug.

Aubrey cocked an eyebrow. "If she was sleeping, how were you taking care of her?"

Chloe glanced up, clenching her bottom lip with her teeth. She shook her head, her cheeks rosy pink. "I'm not telling you, you're going to laugh at me."

"Just tell me. I promise I won't."

The redhead pursed her lips and stared at her best friend skeptically. The blonde rolled her eyes and motioned with her arms for her to hurry up. Chloe groaned and took a breath. "I kind of sang to her while stroking her hair," she said slowly.

"You sang to her while stroking her hair?" Aubrey repeated in the same slow manner the redhead did.

Chloe nodded, waiting for a response from the blonde but she rolled her eyes when she saw her best friend turn away, covering her grin with her hand. Aubrey's shoulders silently shook from laughter as she moved away from the redhead, thinking she was going to get smacked again.

"Bree! You said you wouldn't laugh!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Aubrey waved, chuckling continuously.

Chloe glared at the blonde. "I hate you so much right now."

The blonde tried bringing her amusement down and almost got her laughing to stop. She still had to fight to keep her lungs from bursting out though. When Aubrey finally managed to completely cease all remaining snickering and snorting, she sighed with content. "I'm okay now. So she has no idea you were there last night?"

"Pretty much. I mean she looked really tired while she was sleeping, so I couldn't tell if she was actually sick or not," she said, running her finger over the marbled counter.

Aubrey nodded thoughtfully. "Chloe?"

"Hmm?" she answered, still keeping her gaze down.

"What's been keeping you from moving on from Beca?"

Chloe flinched and stopped all movements with her hand. She took a moment in silence before looking at Aubrey with unsure and panicked eyes. "Just, umm, some things happened in high school."

Aubrey's shoulders sagged down with disappointment. "Are you ever going to tell me the truth about why you left Beca?" Aubrey asked softly. "All I know is that in our freshman year, you started dating Tom but I've never seen you more miserable in my life."

The redhead smiled, sad and apologetically. "I'm sorry. I must have made you feel like a bad friend for the past three years because I never told you."

Aubrey shook her head. "No, I knew there was something off when you came back from the park but I didn't want to push you. I just put it off because I thought you'd get better over time but if I knew it was hurting you this much, I would've tried harder to be there for you. So, I'm sorry for letting you down and not being there for you."

"No, you didn't let me down," Chloe denied adamantly, "It was my fault anyways...you had no idea how to help me because I couldn't tell you."

"Okay, so we're both at fault, "Aubrey said evenly, trying to break some of the tension.

Chloe lowered her eyes, closing them for a second, and brought them back up again. Aubrey's heart clenched when she saw the guilt and pain etched into the lines of her light blue irises.

"Can I tell you later?" Chloe whispered, "I promise I will but...not now."

Aubrey moved her hand to hold Chloe's and squeezed it in reassurance, smiling supportively. "Of course, I'll be waiting with an open ear."

The redhead smiled warmly. "Thanks, Bree."

"But what are you going to do about Beca?"

"I don't know," she muttered, "I hurt her so badly and she changed so much because of what I did to her. I don't even think I have a right to talk to her."

Aubrey paused thoughtfully. "I can tell you that she is angry. Well, really angry actually, but the past is in the past. Don't you want to make up with her?"

Chloe nodded furiously with determination brimming in her eyes. "More than anything in the world."

The blonde smiled. "Then nothing should be stopping you. Stop moping around the apartment and try your best to get to know her again. Sure, she changed a lot but you can't be put off by how different she is now. If she turns out to be the same person who's just putting up a front, then I'd say you're lucky but if she ends up pushing you away and hurting you even more, let her go."

The redhead dropped her head, clenching and unclenching her jaw. "I don't think I could ever let her go," Chloe whispered, choking on the lump in her throat.

"Baby steps," Aubrey stated with certainty, "and I'll be right next to you every step of the way."

The redhead looked at her best friend with tears in her eyes and gave a small smile. "I love you, Bree. You're the most amazing best friend in the world."

Aubrey flipped her hair deliberately over her shoulder. "Obviously."

Instead of the sob that was creeping out, Chloe laughed and Aubrey joined her, and the redhead found the weight dragging on her shoulders just a little bit easier to carry.

* * *

Beca was sitting on the quad under the shade of a tree with a Starbucks cup in her hand and her laptop. It was the perfect sight of a peaceful day but right now, all the brunette wanted to do was slam her computer on the ground and stomp on it until the machine was on the other side of the world. Frustration was an understatement for Beca; the brunette was trying to mix two songs together but she just didn't seem to get it right.

With the events of last night reeling in her head, the distraction didn't help much either. It was blocking any if not all her inspiration for music at the moment.

Just then, her phone rang. Beca picked it up and groaned when she saw that her dad's picture flash on the screen. She answered anyways, knowing that sooner or later, he'd hunt her down somehow.

"Hello?" she grumbled, running her hand through her hair.

"Beca," his voice rang sternly, "why am I hearing from my coworkers about how my daughter isn't going to her classes regularly?"

The brunette rubbed her forehead and winced, "Umm..."

"May I remind you, young lady, that I am the one who's giving you a free college education?" he asked annoyed. "Most people would do anything to be in your position. The least you could do is to not bring down my reputation."

"Well, it's not like I asked you to do anything for me," she muttered.

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing," Beca droned.

There was a brief pause as the brunette heard the sound of a door slam through the phone. "Well, are you going to tell me why you're not going to class or not, Beca?"

"Uh, look dad. I'm actually going to class right now so I gotta hang up the phone, okay? Alright bye."

"Beca, I know what you're doing but this conversation is not-."

She promptly ended the call before her dad said anything more and threw her phone on the grass. Beca lied down and let out a huff of frustration. It didn't make sense to her that her dad thinks that he can keep tabs on her whenever he felt like it. He had no right; he lost it the day he left her to fend for her mom and herself. The brunette tried not to let her anger get the best of her and tried redirecting her attention to the clouds drifting by instead.

Out of nowhere, Jesse's head popped into view. His face had a ridiculous grin that Beca was in no mood for and wanted to smack it out of him.

"Hey, bestie. What you up to?" he greeted cheerily. Jesse whipped out his backpack and pulled out a blanket and threw it out, letting it proudly float to the ground.

"Nothing much. The whole world's just out to get me, that's all," Beca commented casually.

"Okay," he chuckled, "Were you talking to your dad just now?" he asked, setting his stuff down and making himself comfortable next to Beca.

"Yeah, he's getting on my back for not going to some of my classes."

The whole time, Beca was staring at her best friend as he got out two juice pouches and handed one to her. Jesse didn't even know how much of a dork he was and that made the brunette grin widely.

"Wait, aren't you supposed to be in class right now?" he eyed her, confused.

"Yeah, I overslept because of that stupid party last night," Beca said, wanting to avoid the subject.

"Oh right, speaking of which, why'd you leave so early? I was pretty hurt when you left without saying anything to me after I got you your drink."

The brunette laughed, "I'm surprised you even noticed. You were pretty drunk when I talked to you."

Jesse smirked playfully. "Hey, I know how to hold my liquor, but that's besides the point," he dismissed, his voice getting serious, "Did something happening?"

"Yeah, I was just..." Beca thought to formulate some kind of witty, sarcastic remark but she failed to deliver. Jesse saw the brunette's struggle to string proper words and his eyebrows drew together in increasing concern.

The brunette saw the hard look on her best friend's face and sighed in defeat. "I just got a little dizzy, okay? Aubrey helped me out though and I decided to turn in early; it's no big deal," she said, trying to be lighthearted.

"Beca, you've never been dizzy before. We should go to the hospital just to check."

"No!" she yelled, startling her best friend who was about to stand up, "No, it really isn't a big deal. It was just something that came and went and it probably won't happen again," she stated firmly.

"You can't be too sure, Beca. You shouldn't just decide on not seeing the doctor because you don't feel like it. You'll kill yourself like this," he argued.

"I'm sure," she said firmly, "Can we just move on from this? I think I can take care of myself, thanks."

Jesse eyed her warily and sighed. His best friend could never be reasoned with. He begrudgingly relaxed into a sitting position and decided to move onto a lighter topic. "So have you been seeing that hot cheerleader lately?"

Beca turned her attention back to her laptop. "Nope," she said simply.

Jesse cocked his head and raised an eyebrow, "Well, are you going to see her again?"

Beca chuckled, keeping her eyes on her computer. "I don't know, it was a one night stand. I'll see her when I see her."

He shook his head and laughed. "Damn. If I were you, I'd be grateful."

"Hell, you should be grateful for anyone who would actually take interest in you. You and all you're juice pouches," she retorted, mischief dancing in her eyes.

"Ouch. That's harsh."

"You'll live."

Jesse slurped on his juice thoughtfully. "Okay, quick question."

"Shoot."

"Remember how I was somewhat drunk last night but not really?"

"Get to your point, Jesse," Beca urged, wanting to fully dive into her mix.

"Well I saw Chloe headed off in the direction of your dorm and I wasn't sure if I was seeing things or not," he speculated.

"Chloe came to my dorm?" the brunette asked looking up, disbelief evident in her voice.

He nodded. "Yeah, I saw her talking to Aubrey for a while and then I guess she took off to your room."

"That fucking bitch," Beca muttered under her breath, afraid that Aubrey told Chloe about what happened.

"What's wrong?"

"Hopefully nothing. I just hope Aubrey didn't tell Chloe anything."

"So? What if she did?"

"Well, it's none of her damn business," she said, irritated.

Jesse rolled his eyes, "Isn't it time you tried to get over her leaving you and forgive her? You guys can still be friends, you know."

Beca looked up with her eyes squinting, brows furrowed. "Jesse, you're supposed to be my best friend. Why are you defending her?"

"I'm not trying to defend her but I'm just saying I don't see her as an evil bitch like you do. I saw her that day when we went to that party with Kim and the look on her face when she saw you dancing with those girls," Jesse whistled, "I don't know how anyone couldn't feel bad for her."

Beca looked off to the side, seemingly deep in thought. "Whatever," Beca grunted, "It shouldn't matter to her who I hook up with."

"Obviously it does. You know she still loves you right?"

The brunette's expression fell flat and she turned to Jesse with annoyance. "Why are we even talking about this? Last time I checked, this was my business, not yours."

Jesse put his hands up and shrugged, "Hey, I'm just suggesting that maybe you should talk to her instead of shooting her down all the time. Maybe she actually had a reason for leaving."

Beca scoffed, turning back to her laptop, fingers clicking away on some keys. "Other than using me then throwing me away when she got bored? That's hard to believe."

"Just consider it is what I'm saying. You'll never know what you might find out," he persisted.

The brunette sighed, letting her head sag down. Beca closed her eyes, feeling that everything was going to bite her in the ass. "Alright, I'll think about it."

Jesse smiled and pumped his fist in victory. "Yes! Jesse 1, Beca 0."

Beca raised an eyebrow and smiled in amusement. "Why am I getting the feeling that you're doing this to get on Aubrey's good side?"

He stuttered with an obvious blush on his cheeks. "Don't even joke about that, dude. You know I don't like her like that"

The brunette laughed to herself as she remembered all the times Jesse would pine for the blonde's attention but got ignored. Any acknowledgment at all would be a withering glare at most. Beca directed her gaze back to her laptop and glimpsed at the time.

"Shit!" She hissed, gathering her stuff from the grass. The brunette shoved her laptop in her bag and packed her headphones.

"Why, what's wrong?" Jesse asked confused.

Beca got up and dusted herself off. "I'm late for practice." The DJ slung her backpack on her shoulder and trotted away. "I'll see you later, Jess!"

"We're having a serious movication soon. I'll swing by your room later!" He yelled after her.

The brunette sprinted off in the direction of the auditorium. She could feel her heart rapidly pounding and her breath come down in heavy pants. She wasn't overly worried though, the doctor told her some form of exercise was fine and even recommended it. The building soon came into sight and she checked her phone. She still had ten minutes to spare. Beca let out a deep breath and slowed her pace to a walk.

While on her way, the brunette felt something slip around her arm. Surprised, she looked to her right and saw Kim clinging onto her.

"Hey, you," Kim greeted, a flirtatious grin tugging at her lips.

Beca smirked. "Hey yourself, gorgeous."

"I missed you," the cheerleader whined, pouting sadly. "It's been the longest time since I've seen you. Why didn't you call me?"

The brunette feigned a sympathetic look. "I know, I'm sorry. I got busy with some Bella's stuff."

Kim scrunched her nose in disapproval. "You joined those weirdo's?"

The brunette chuckled. "I know right? I had to join some club."

"You could have joined my squad and be with me. Since I'm the head cheerleader, I would've given you some special privileges," she offered with a wink.

Beca's eyes widened with horror. "God, no, I'll do anything else. But I do think I'd want those special privileges" she said, her voice dropping low.

Before Kim had a chance to respond, Beca advanced forward, pushing Kim back until the cheerleader was pressed against a tree. Kim's eyes darkened immediately with a pleased smile on her face as she wrapped both arms around the back of Beca's neck.

"Depends on what you have in mind," she said, drawing slow patterns with the tip of her fingers on the brunette's neck.

Beca fought to hold in a shiver and Kim smiled slyly when she saw the visible effort. "I think I can think of a few things."

The DJ tilted her head and leaned in, hovering over Kim's lips. They exchanged glances between their eyes and lips, building up the desire to try and see who'd concede first. When Kim couldn't hold back anymore, she tipped her head to get closer but Beca pulled away, a cocky smirk on her lips.

"You fucking tease," Kim whined, her breath ragged.

"Don't say that, baby, you love it. Let's just enjoy this." Beca swept her tongue over the cheerleader's bottom lip and trailed her appendage down the column of the girl's neck. Kim's initial gasp faded into a long moan as the brunette nipped and grated her teeth over the her pulse point. She moved on to do the same damage to the girl's collarbone. Beca's hands gripped Kim's hips firmly while her thumbs massaged slow, deliberate circles above her hip bones. Kim squirmed, the movements the brunette was doing with her hands proving to be too sensitive for her but Beca just held her tighter.

"Beca," she whimpered, threading her fingers through the brunette's hair, "people are staring."

The DJ pulled away from the cheerleader's neck, making a loud smacking sound. A very angry hickey was about to bruise the skin under Kim's collarbone. "Are you really worried about everyone looking when you shake this-," she ran her hand over and squeezed the cheerleader's ass, "in front of a whole crowd? Everyone watching you, undressing you, and fucking you with their eyes."

Kim groaned, taking deep, irregular breaths. It was amazing how turned on she was and she wanted nothing more than to rip off the smaller woman's clothes and fuck her and get fucked in return.

Beca looked at her handiwork and smirked smugly when the cheerleader didn't respond. She moved her hands over to Kim's crotch and grounded her palm into the fabric while rubbing up and down. Kim panted, moving her hips accordingly, grinding herself to the delicious friction. She frantically tried to get Beca's hand closer to her and bring herself more pleasure.

Beca snapped out of her reverie when heard a familiar high pitched shriek calling a name: "Tom" and interrupted all of her movements. It was a moment when everything began to move slowly as recognition clicked into place in her mind. That name that caused her so many sleepless nights filled with anguish because of the images that would swim in her head. She could never forget the name of the bastard that her ex girlfriend left her for. Beca whipped her head around with murderous intent to locate the source while Kim was too deep in her lust filled daze to notice.

The brunette didn't expect what she'd see but she saw a tall brown haired male chasing Chloe down the street. The redhead was clutching her bag closely with her boots clacking to her rapid steps. Judging by the raised voices and harsh tone, they were in an argument.

Beca wanted to tear her eyes away from the scene because it was none of her business but she couldn't help staring. Chloe looked like she was becoming increasingly distressed and a part of Beca wanted to help her. But why should she help? Chloe destroyed her. It's only fair the redhead should hurt just as much as she did...right?

Beca turned to Kim and watched how the cheerleader was slowly coming out of her lust induced trance. She wouldn't be finishing the job she started anyway so there'd be no reason to keep Kim around for the moment.

The brunette looked back to Chloe and saw how Tom yanked the redhead's arm, whirling her around and causing her to almost lose her balance. A devil awakened inside Beca at how the asshole thought he had the right to treat Chloe that way. Beca's eyes lowered into slits as she felt her arms tense and her fingers recede into tight balled fists. This wouldn't be for Chloe; the brunette had a score to settle and she was going to take full advantage of the present opportunity.

Beca brought her lips next to Kim's ear. "We'll finish this later when I don't have to go to practice. You won't have to worry about anyone watching then. You'll belong to only me when I'm done with you."

The cheerleader's cheeks flushed and nodded dumbly. "You better call me this time." She kissed Beca on the cheek and smiled sweetly before leaving completely.

As soon as Kim left, Beca walked in the direction of the arguing pair. The brunette saw how Chloe was stabbing her finger into Tom's chest, screaming at the top of her lungs with tears lining her eyes. All the while, Tom's expression was dark and his left arm was bulging with muscles with the amount of tension he was putting in it. Beca knew what Tom was thinking next, which was why she acted accordingly and sprinted the remaining distance and threw herself in front of Chloe.

Beca heard Chloe shriek right when a hard blow to the cheek drove Beca stumbling to the side. The brunette quickly stood back up, not letting her guard down in case Tom wanted more.

"What the fuck?" Tom jerked his arm back almost like he wanted to claim innocence for his actions.

"Beca?" Chloe called, confused.

The brunette ignored the redhead behind her and saw the astonished look on Tom's face She didn't let his hesitation hold her back. Beca pulled back her right arm as far as it could go and launched it straight across his face. It hurt. Fuck, it hurt, but the adrenaline flowing in her blood took most of the pain away.

Beca gained some satisfaction at how the giant asshole fell to the ground. Right when he hit the pavement, the brunette drove her foot into his stomach. Tom yelped in pain and turned to the side, clutching his abdomen. Sometime in between, Chloe was yelling at Beca to stop but she didn't stop; it was more like she couldn't stop. Too caught up in the blind rage consuming her, she threw her whole weight into the multiple kicks directed at Tom's ribs. She was just about done when she added another for good measure and smiled devilishly to herself when she felt one of them crack.

Tom yelled loudly in pain while Beca stepped back. The brunette saw Chloe rushing to help him, but Beca held up her arm to stop her. Tom rolled to the side, groaning while desperately clutching his side. After a moment, he managed to turn himself over until he was on all fours. The brunette could see the angry daggers directed toward her in his eyes.

"What the fuck, man?" he yelled, breathing heavily while trying to stand up. He got himself up awkwardly but not without grabbing the side of his chest. With his abdomen heaving in and out, Tom was just about to tackle Beca to the ground when the small brunette stopped him.

Beca smirked and crossed her arms. "It's a bad idea to try anything right now. Unless you want me to break another rib, you should just stay still," she pointed out.

"Beca, please, stop this," Chloe begged again, tugging her arm from behind. The brunette whipped her arm away and pushed the redhead behind her. If Jesse was right and there was some kind of reasoning behind Chloe breaking up with her, this was the moment of truth.

Tom's shoulders relaxed a little bit but the glare and tight-lipped frown remained on his face. Beca had to admire his efforts though. She could see the veins bulging out from his temple and hear his heavy breathing obstructing the air between them.

The glare faltered for a second and a strange flicker crossed his eyes. "I know you," he muttered, "don't I?" Tom looked at Chloe then to Beca.

Beca stood there confused as hell; if she didn't know anything about him how would he know anything about her? Tom smiled and snorted, throwing his head back and roaring in laughter. He winced in pain but it didn't stop him from chuckling.

"Aww, man, this is too funny. Who would've thought that the dyke dating the stupid slut in high school would chase after her to college? Did you come to get her back or are you just stalking the bitch?"

"Leave her the fuck alone," Beca snarled dangerously. She felt the pit of anger about to overflow again and she didn't care that Tom was injured anymore. However, she managed to bite it back; she couldn't believe Chloe left her for this asshole.

Tom shrugged and held his hands up, smiling all the while. "Hey, I was just trying to reclaim what was mine. I miss having something to play with."

Beca glanced back at the redhead and saw how Chloe lowered her head in shame under the brunette's gaze.

Beca turned back to Tom and felt her chest vibrate in a growl, "Yeah? The next time you pull this shit, you're not going to be worrying about just one broken bone."

"Is that a threat?" he asked menacingly, puffing his chest out.

"No," Beca grinned darkly, "It's a promise."

The brunette turned around and grabbed Chloe's hand. Beca speed walked the way to the auditorium, strangely reassured by the clacking of the redhead's boots. The brunette pulled out her phone and cursed under her breath. They were beyond late for practice and Aubrey yelling at them, particularly her, was inevitable. Beca sighed in exhaustion and tried to ignore the pulsing pain in her knuckles the rest of the way.

* * *

Chloe felt something warm bloom in her chest while being tugged along by Beca. She stepped in right when Tom was about to hit her and now the brunette was holding her hand. Chloe smiled at the familiarity.

"Beca," she called. The brunette didn't answer and kept towing her along. They were nearing the front of the auditorium and the redhead could already hear Aubrey's voice echoing from inside.

"Beca, stop," Chloe said more firmly and the brunette halted to a stop. Beca immediately let go of the redhead's hand and stood with her back to Chloe.

Chloe approached the younger girl, hesitant with the silent treatment. She looked at Beca's slim back, how it curved in from her shoulders in a small slope to shape her waist and expanded outwards to outline her hips. There was a painfully sweet ache in Chloe's arms, a delicious desire to envelope the brunette with her bigger body.

"Hey," she said, putting a hand on Beca's shoulder and nudging her so she would face her, "are you okay?"

The brunette allowed herself to turn to Chloe but kept her eyes lowered and nursed her hand instead.

The redhead followed her gaze and gasped, "Oh my god, Beca, you're hurt!" She grasped the younger girl's wrist and brought it up to her eyes, seeing how there was already discoloration forming around the brunette's knuckles.

Beca swiftly took her hand back. "It's just a bruise," she mumbled.

"It's not just a bruise," she fussed, taking one step closer, "it might be broken. Let me see it."

The brunette immediately retreated, taking a step back. "It's nothing, alright? Just leave it alone," she insisted.

Chloe stood still, slightly agitated that Beca was being so stubborn but remembered how she got the injury in the first place. "Thank you for helping me," she said delicately.

The brunette's eyes flashed to the redhead's for a second. "Don't make it a habit," she grunted.

Beca turned and pulled at the door handle to the auditorium. She walked in but held the door open for Chloe. The redhead smiled wider. The gesture wasn't big and it wasn't much; it was simply politeness but it was a step forward and she took hope in it.

They walked in together and saw Aubrey standing in front of a board with the rest of the Bellas sitting in chairs. She was in the middle of lecturing Stacie and the others about respecting their bodies and not letting any of the Trebles get inside them when they came in.

Aubrey looked up, frustration glowing in her eyes. "Chloe! Beca! Why are you late on the first day of-," she stopped mid sentence, seeing the red rims around Chloe's eyes. The blonde marched over to the pair, walking straight up to Beca and slapped her with all the strength in her arm. A loud smack resounded in the auditorium. "What did you do to Chloe?" she demanded.

Startled, Chloe pushed Aubrey away from Beca and got in between them. "Bree, stop it! Beca didn't do anything to me."

The blonde receded but crossed her arms and glared at the brunette. "I don't believe it."

Beca glared back, "I don't need you to believe anything." The brunette ran her fingers through her hair and grumbled to herself. She walked over to the rest of the Bellas and plopped down on one of the chairs in the back row, crossing her arms and avoiding eye contact with the other Bellas.

The redhead pulled Aubrey to the side by her arm. "Bree, you shouldn't have done that," Chloe whispered harshly.

"She made you cry!"

"It wasn't her, it was Tom. He saw me and started following me, saying all this stuff while I was coming to practice and then Beca saved me."

Aubrey recoiled and blinked twice. "She saved you?" she said incredulously.

"Yeah, so you better apologize to her later," the redhead demanded sternly.

The blonde cursed. "I can't aca-believe it...why was Tom chasing after you in the first place?"

"I'll talk to you about this later but right now we still have practice." Chloe grabbed Aubrey's arm and pulled her along to the front of the room. "Don't stress out too much, you don't want to have a repeat of last year, right?"

Aubrey scrunched her nose in recognition of the unfortunate event but nodded. With renewed vigor in her eyes, she straightened up her posture. The room was buzzing with the murmur of conversation when the blonde clapped her hands to get the Bellas' attention.

"Alright, ladies, let's get back to business. We will practice every day for two hours, seven days a week, and I trust you will add your own cardio," she encouraged with a bright smile.

"I demand a majority voting against any cardiac exercises," Fat Amy piped up, raising her hand.

Aubrey shook her head, ignoring the blonde and moved to pick up a stack of papers on the stool next to her. "Okay, moving on. This is a list filled with all the songs we performed, and you will notice that they are only sung by famous women."

Beca flipped through the pages and Chloe tried to discreetly stare at her but was caught red handed. The brunette only raised an eyebrow in confusion and returned to glancing over the list. "There's nothing from this century on here," Beca commented; knowing where and how to push Aubrey's buttons.

"Because we go straight from tradition," the blonde retorted as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Chloe could already feel the tension rising in the room and she hoped that Beca wouldn't say any more, it would only make matters worse. Thankfully, the brunette dropped her eyes and continued to look through the list.

Aubrey walked to the whiteboard and gripped the top, flipping it over to the other side. "Now, this is how we will become champions," she said proudly, showing off the large graph she drew herself. Many of the Bellas sat open mouthed, staring at the complex chart.

Cynthia Rose whistled. "Damn."

The blonde rocked back and forth from her heel to her toes in excitement. "Alright, let's do this!"

Aubrey started the group off with cardio but briefly stopped after a half hour when she saw Fat Amy's horizontal running. She transitioned to vocal exercises, walking with high heels, then dancing.

Throughout the whole ordeal, Chloe tried to find openings where she could wedge herself next to Beca. She found that the only chance she had was when teaching dance moves. The redhead watched the brunette awkwardly turning and outlining a square with her arms. Chloe giggled, which earned her a very dark glare from the small girl.

Emboldened with the interaction, she walked up and stood right behind Beca. "Here, this is how you do it," Chloe said, softly grabbing her arms and smoothly going through the moves.

"I know, I can do it," Beca responded agitatedly.

The redhead would've been put off with the brunette's snarky tone if she didn't notice the goosebumps rising on Beca's slender arms. Chloe smiled to herself one last time before letting the girl go.

Practice droned on for another hour and by then even Chloe felt like she couldn't take anymore. She was in the middle of leading the dance routine for one of the songs when Aubrey stopped them.

"Okay! I'm calling it!" she yelled exasperatedly, "I'll see you all here tomorrow, same time."

The Bellas groaned; they each walked off, gathering their belongings and exiting the building and Beca was about to do the same when Aubrey stopped her. Chloe looked on from the chairs on the side, drinking her water.

"Except you, Beca. I need to speak with you," Aubrey called.

Beca sighed, turning away from the bag she was about to retrieve and walking towards the blonde. "What now, Aubrey?"

"First off, I'm sorry for slapping you. I jumped to conclusions and it was wrong of me to do," the blonde admitted. Aubrey glanced to where Chloe was sitting and caught the happy grin on her best friend's face.

The brunette shrugged. "Don't worry about it, it's not a big deal. Was that the only reason you needed to talk to me? I want to go and take a shower."

"No, it wasn't, actually. You know you have to take out those ear monstrosities for the fall mixer coming up, right?"

Beca chuckled, shaking her head. "I'm not going to take out my piercings just because you don't like them."

"You're a Bella now and they don't fit the traditional Bella image," Aubrey said sharply.

"Well, sue me; I'm not a typical stupid Bella. You can't force people into a box and control them however you like, Aubrey. You're the captain; you lead us, you don't command us," Beca reprimanded. With no response from the tight-lipped blonde, the brunette turned to get her bag and left.

Chloe stood and went over to her best friend and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Everything okay?"

"Perfect," Aubrey spat, "we better have our shit together for the mixer."

The redhead nodded, a supportive smile tugging on her lips. "I'm not worried. I think we're going to be aca-amazing this year."

"Yeah, whatever. Just try to keep your toner out of practice," the blonde grumbled.

Chloe blushed. "I'll, uhh, see you at home," she said, grabbing her bag and rushing out to catch up to Beca. Luckily, the brunette wasn't very far off and was walking through the quad when Chloe jogged over to catch up with her.

"Hey," the redhead greeted cheerily, falling into step next to the brunette.

"Hi," Beca replied somewhat surprised with Chloe's sudden entrance.

"You did great today."

"Thanks," the brunette said awkwardly, playing with the strap of her bag. An uncomfortable silence fell over the two of them as they both walked without saying a word.

"Umm," Chloe stuttered, "do you, maybe want to get some coffee?"

Beca stopped her feet, peering into the redhead's eyes while Chloe did the same. The brunette's lips quirked into a small smile. "I don't think that's such a good idea."

Disappointed, Chloe felt her heart sink but quickly threw herself a life ring. She made herself promise she wouldn't give up trying with the brunette. "Beca, I know I left on a really bad note back then but I really want to try rebuilding what we had between us."

Beca scoffed, a dubious look in her eyes. "You're kidding, right? You're the one who destroyed us in the first place. No wait, did you even give a fuck about 'us'?

"Of course I did, what we had meant the world to me!"

"Bullshit, you left!"

"Just give me a chance to explain and I'll-"

"No, I won't because today, you go on and pull that shit with Tom and you really expect me to forgive you? I mean, there must be something really fucked up about me if you left me for that asshole," Beca yelled.

Chloe could hear the immense amount of pain in Beca's voice and it made her lips tremble. She had to bite them to keep them steady.

"It was me, there was never anything wrong with you," the redhead confessed softly.

"Save it. Maybe I can stand listening to your excuses some other day but I'm not in the mood for them right now," Beca snapped, promptly trudging away through the grass.

Chloe felt her optimism of saving her relationship with Beca sinking. This whole day she had been feeling great because of Aubrey's pep talk but she completely disregarded Beca's feelings and forgot how bitter the brunette was. Everything was playing out perfectly in Chloe's mind but how did the day go for Beca when she saw her ex-girlfriend fighting with the guy she left her for? How did she feel when she was blamed and slapped for hurting Chloe? What thoughts were running through her head when her ex-girlfriend approached her and acted as if everything was normal like she had never hurt her in the first place?

Chloe pushed her feelings onto Beca and assumed the brunette wanted the same thing she wanted, and the redhead has never felt so stupid.

**A/N: It took a long time but I managed to finish this one! Just want you to know that while I'm writing this, I still am thinking and rethinking the plot and carefully trying to place things in order, which is why it's taking a long time. Thank you to all the people who favorite, follow, view, and review this story :) I can't tell you how much I appreciate it and how it keeps me going. **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thanks again for all the review, follows, and favorites! I know that the uploads are really slow but school's almost over and I'll be working on this more over break. Thanks for taking the time to read the story :)**

_"Mom, look at all the cars! How aren't they getting scratched by the big machines?_

_Beca's mother, Justine, turned around after paying the serviceman and walked over to her young daughter standing in front of the window that directly showed the cars being washed. "You see all those things that look like shredded cheese hanging from the ceiling?_

_Beca giggled and nodded enthusiastically_

_Justine smiled warmly. "They're actually very soft and smooth and they make sure the car gets sparkly clean without hurting any of them."_

_The tiny brunette's eyes grew wide and sparkled with wonder. "Wow! Look, mom, there's our car over there!" Beca shouted, pointing to the black Honda._

_Justine chuckled lightly. "Alright, honey. Let's go sit over there and wait for the big machines to finish their job." They went over to the sofa lined against the wall and sat down. Justine picked up a fashion magazine sitting on the table in front of them and flipped through it, gazing over the flamboyant pictures. Beca, with her feet a couple inches hovering over the ground, dangled her legs and kept herself amused, humming to herself._

_A couple minutes passed in relative silence until Beca heard multiple persistent tickings over her head. Confused, she looked up and saw three clocks placed next to each other. She struggled to read them but managed to figure out that one of them said "America", the second said "London", and the third said "China"._

_Her mother was currently reading an article on the latest celebrity gossip when she felt a light tapping on her arm. She turned and saw Beca looking deeply thoughtful and confused while staring at the clocks._

_"Mom, why are there three clocks on the wall?"_

_Justine closed the magazine and tossed it on the coffee table. "You see the clock that says 'America'?"_

_Beca nodded._

_"That's where we live and what time does it say it is?"_

_The brunette thought mumbling to herself and making calculations with her fingers. "It's 12:30."_

_"Now read the other two clocks for me."_

_Beca mumbled to herself for another minute longer. "The second one says 8:30 and the third one says 3:30."_

_"Good job!" Justine praised proudly, "The second clock tells you that it's 8:30 in London and the third one says that it's 3:30 in China."_

_Beca creased her brows together. "I don't get it. So it's night time in London right now?"_

_Justine nodded. "You'll learn a lot more about it in your science class but it has to do with the sun and how the earth spins around it."_

_The small brunette stayed silent and Justine smiled, seeing the little cogs turning in her head. "Alright," Beca said._

_"Makes you see that school is actually really cool, huh?"_

_Beca rolled her eyes playfully. "Yeah, sure, mom."_

_"Hey, don't take that tone with me, young lady!" Justine said sternly. She scooped her daughter into her arms and tickled her as punishment. The infectious giggles tumbled out of the tiny brunette and she couldn't help but laugh along. Her 7 year old daughter sure had a lot of attitude for her age. She didn't mind though, a stubborn attitude was what Beca was going to need when she's standing up for herself._

* * *

The alarm blared right next to Beca's ear, thundering through her eardrums. The brunette groaned, blindly swinging her arm, trying to find the offending object and smacked it harder than necessary. Her alarm clock tumbled down her nightstand and fell silent on the ground with a final "ping". Satisfied with herself, Beca stretched out her arms and yawned.

"So, this is why you haven't been going to your classes?"

Beca's eyes jumped open, panicked by the deep, foreign voice. Her body tensed and she felt panic trickle through her veins. However, her racing pulse slowed down when she saw that it was only her father standing in front of her with his arms crossed sternly. She looked around and didn't see Kimmy Jin in the room. The brunette didn't know which one to be more pissed off at: the fact that her dad invited himself into her dorm (which was probably Kimmy Jin's fault) or that he was standing over her in the classic patronizing way.

"What are you doing here?" she sighed, sitting up. She was definitely not in the mood to start off her morning with an argument with her dad.

"The question is why aren't you in class right now? Your professors have been telling me that you've been showing a lack of effort in your class participation and assignments. What's going on, Beca?"

A string of curses were being mentally yelled at her dad in her mind. "Why are you even talking to my professors in the first place?" She questioned, immediately getting annoyed.

He ignored her and continued, "I also took a look at your schedule and it said that you should be in your philosophy class right now. Unless I'm going blind, I don't think you're in the right place, Beca."

The brunette scoffed and sat up, squinting at her father. "What, are you stalking me? Isn't that kind of abusing your power as a professor or is that the only reason you even bothered to get a teaching license?"

The professor uncrossed his arms and placed them on his hips. "Excuse me? Are you trying to tell me something, young lady?"

"I don't know, maybe you use your authority to stalk all the other female students that take your interest. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised," she spat harshly.

The blood rushed to her dad's face, raising the veins in his neck along the way. "How dare you assume that I use my position for something so dirty! It took a lot of work to get my degree and the position I'm in right now and I won't have you insult my efforts. Like it or not, I am your father and you do not disrespect me like that!" he roared.

She snorted and rolled her eyes in clear amusement. "What are you going to do, ground me? I'd love to see you try."

The man stood there and glared at her daughter's insolence. Beca stared back, her eyes piercing into the man's skull with anger growing by the second.

"Unless you start showing an effort to pass your classes, I am not going to support you and your little dreams in L.A. I never should've even made that deal with you considering the condition you're in," he fumed.

"You make it sound like being sick is my fault," she accused.

He didn't say anything back.

"I can't believe it. Are you going to turn back on your promises just like you turned your back on me?"

"That is _not_ the subject we're going into, Rebecca Mitchell," he yelled.

"And since when do you think you can tell me what to do? You lost that right when you walked out on me and mom to fuck your whore and make bastard ass kids!"

The man's tolerance broke and he shot his arm out like a bullet being shot out of a pistol and smacked his daughter across the face. "Don't you _dare_ talk about my family in such a vulgar way!" he growled, his finger pointed directly in her face.

She laughed bitterly and rose to her feet, effectively challenging him even with their height difference. Beca ignored the stinging pain in her cheek. "Defending your family, huh? Funny how you can be there for them but not for me."

Warren's glare held for a moment longer before dissipating as his shoulders sagged with exhaustion and defeat; this wasn't how he was planning on talking with his daughter. He sighed, "Can you stop being selfish for one second so we can-"

"Selfish? You're calling me selfish?" Beca snapped, "Who's the one who walked out on his daughter when his wife was sick?"

"You know that it wasn't what I meant to do. I-" he struggled.

"_You're_ the one who left me to take care of mom all by myself and you never once turned around to see how we were doing. All you did was send us your fucking money so we wouldn't end up on the streets. I still had to take up a job just so we can survive in that stupid, dirty ass one bedroom apartment we were forced to live in after _you_ left," she jabbed, stabbing her finger in his chest, "I mean, you don't want your coworkers to find out that you left your old family to rot on the streets while you live it up here, right? Wouldn't want to ruin your reputation."

"I realize my mistakes, Beca, but I was foolish back then. Your mother was calling for another man's name, I thought she was cheating on me," he stammered.

"She had Alzheimer's! She was confused and was losing her fucking memory and didn't know who either of us was. You think it was any easier for me when mom thought I was the neighbor's kid and told me that it was time for me to go home? You couldn't even fucking get over yourself to see that her mind wasn't even in the right place!" Beca screamed.

She knew she should calm down but she had been harboring this anger inside of her for three years, letting it simmer and change her accordingly. It was too late to stop herself. Too many events happened because her dad wanting to have a family with another woman instead of cherishing the one he already had.

"Beca-"

"And you know what the sad part was?" Beca's shoulders slumped with fatigue, her voice dropping.

"The day the divorce papers arrived in the mail was the last day she actually acted like her normal self. She asked me where you went and I lied to her because I knew she'd forget again in a couple of hours. But when she went out to get the mail and saw the papers, she broke down crying because she didn't know what was happening. The last thing she said to me were only to curse me because she thought I was the reason behind all of it, but you were the one who destroyed her," she growled, the venom returning in her voice.

Warren opened his mouth to retort but closed it. "I'm sorry, Beca, to leave you to deal with her. I didn't know she'd end up being such a problem for you. If I knew about all the grief she caused you, I would have sent her to an institution of some sort," he muttered, fumbling with his fingers.

"Problem?" she said incredulously, "You think I thought of mom as a problem? She was my mother and I loved and took care of her in the best way I knew how until the day she died."

"I'm sorry, that's not what I meant to-"

"Save your sorry's to make yourself feel better. Don't apologize to me when everything happened because of you, I don't need your fucking pity. You betrayed me, and I will never forgive you in this lifetime or the next," she said murderously.

Warren withered under her sharp glare. He merely nodded and made his way out the door without another word.

Beca watched him leave. She let out the breath she'd been holding when he was out of sight, rubbing her eyes tiredly with her fingers. She paced the room to shake off her remaining anger, but the black ball churning in the pit of her stomach was expanding furiously. The brunette felt her body tense like a coiled spring and she felt like exploding in any given moment. She tried to calm herself down, controlling her breathing but nothing helped and it only seemed to add on to her fury. Beca slumped over her desk, grinding her fist into the wooden surface.

"Fuck!" she screamed, her fury bursting out with vigor. Beca savagely kicked her chair. She grabbed her alarm clock from the floor and flung it to the wall, shattering it to a million bits of metal and cogs. A dent appeared on the wall, cracking through the drywall and her arm throbbed with the force of her throw. Her chest heaved in and out, her anger about to overtake her once more. Beca closed her eyes and desperately fought to choke back an angry sob forming in the back of her throat. It was then when she heard a hesitant knock on her door.

"What?" she snapped, turning around to face the door.

Beca saw Chloe holding two cups of coffee looking very unsure of herself. The brunette groaned and pinched the bridge between her eyes, hoping to shut out the world for a second. _Why was she here?_ Her eyes widened with realization. "Were you outside listening to everything?"

"I didn't mean to," she stuttered, "I was coming here thinking we could talk but I saw your dad go in before me. The door was open a bit and I overheard some of your conversation while I was waiting outside."

Beca sighed, turning around and covering her eyes with her hands. She felt her limbs losing strength, she felt like curling up in a ball on her bed and rocking herself to sleep.

Chloe tentatively approached the brunette, setting down the cups of coffee on the nightstand and gingerly placed her hand on the girl's shoulders. "I really didn't mean to eavesdrop but was everything you and your dad said true?"

Beca smacked the hand off her shoulder and turned around, her eyes blazing. "What are you going to do if it was? Feel bad for me?. I didn't need anyone then and I still don't need anyone now. I'm doing fine by myself."

Chloe held the hand that the brunette smacked with her other hand and looked down. "I'm not pitying you, Beca. Why didn't you tell me you were going through such hard times alone? I would've been there for you."

The brunette laughed out loud incredulously, "Are you serious? You left me behind just like my dad and you never once looked back. You ignored every one of my texts and phone calls, remember? Oh right, maybe you were too busy fucking Tom to pay attention to anything happening to me."

Chloe's head snapped up. "That wasn't the reason why! I made a huge mistake back then and I felt so guilty with how I left that I didn't know how to talk to you again."

"And you thought a cup of coffee was going to solve all that?" Beca scoffed, "that patches everything right up, doesn't it?"

The redhead brushed the brunette's comment off her shoulder and instead, watched the angry frustration behind Beca's movements and words. There was nothing but a hurricane of sadness and pain behind her stormy blue eyes. Beca looked like she was about to cry and that made Chloe feel like crying too.

Chloe didn't back down, she took a step forward with her arms open in an attempt to embrace the smaller woman. She saw through the facade, just like all the other times the brunette put up a front. "You're not alone. You don't need to be alone anymore," she whispered.

Beca took a step back, the back of her leg hitting the edge of her desk. She violently pushed Chloe's soft arms away; she didn't need anyone's care, she grew strong enough not to depend on anyone but herself. "Get the fuck away from me," she snarled, "save it for someone who cares. I'm not some fucking charity case."

"You're the only person I've ever cared about," Chloe said softly, encasing Beca in her arms. Beca fought hard to push the redhead away from her, shoving her shoulders into the redhead's chest in an attempt to loosen her grip but Chloe's arms remained tight around her neck. The brunette dug her fingers into the redhead's arms yanking helplessly, hoping to find a crevice that would release her but to no avail.

"Fuck you! Let me go!" she wailed, panting. Her struggle made her frustration grow. The last thing she wanted was to show a weakness to the person who hurt her so badly.

Chloe held her securely. She wouldn't deny that Beca was strong, she was, stubbornly so, but Chloe still latched onto the brunette's shoulders. It didn't matter how much Beca's nails were slicing into her skin or how bruising her grip was on her forearm. Chloe could feel Beca's painful, desperate plea to fill her loneliness. She saw it behind her words and felt it deep inside her soul because it mirrored her own solitude.

Beca fought a losing battle against Chloe and when she felt like she did everything she could to resist, she gave up and stood there awkwardly, unsure of where to place her arms.

Chloe threaded her fingers through the brunette's hair and started to sing. The lyrics of Titanium softly weaved out of the redhead's mouth. Beca shivered with how close the voice lulled in her ear.

She was painfully scared of how Chloe still had the power to sway her heart and as much as she didn't want to admit, she could feel Chloe penetrating everything Beca constructed herself to be and she could feel herself breaking apart. Years and years of reinforcing her defense mechanisms were being effortlessly plowed down by none other than the person who hurt her the most.

The brunette could feel her rage disintegrating. She didn't know what to do and felt lost, so she raised her arms and clung to the soft fabric of Chloe's shirt like vice-like claws, hanging on for dear life. Beca breathed hard, desperately trying to contain herself.

"Leave me alone," she croaked; her last futile plea to save herself from falling apart. "I don't need anyone," she cried, repeating her personal self-preserving mantra, "I'm fine alone...I don't need anyone...please."

"Never. I'm never leaving you again," Chloe answered, her voice quivering.

Beca buried her face into the redhead's shoulder; her body trembling with eyes squeezed shut. The brunette tightened her hold on Chloe and her heart shook as she remembered how right it felt to press their bodies together. She inhaled the sweet, warm scent emanating from Chloe's neck and breathed in deeper. Chloe smelled like a mixture between wild flowers and roses and to Beca, it felt like coming home.


	6. Chapter 6

Jesse POV:

It's been half an hour since Beca walked in the radio station, quietly setting her stuff down against the side of the room and immediately grabbing a stack of CD's to put away on the shelf. A period of half an hour that Jesse had to endure hearing the brunette dragging her feet across the floor and her countless sighs. Jesse glanced multiple times at the brunette, at a complete loss in how to deal with the dead silence between them. He shuffled nervously, drifting from row to row, trying to dissuade the tension with the clacking of CD cases.

Obviously, something was off with his best friend but he couldn't even graze the tip of his finger on what it was. It's like he was stretching his arm out searching for something in the dark that possibly didn't exist.

Suddenly, the door to the booth creaked open. Luke walked out, rubbing his neck gruffly and arching his spine in a long stretch. He grunted as he relaxed his back and sighed exasperatedly. "Alright you two, I'm going out to lunch. Remember, no sex on the desk," Luke warned as he pulled his car keys from his pocket and walked out the front door.

Jesse looked to Beca expectantly, hoping to see a glimmer of a smirk that she almost always had, but she remained stone-faced and continued to whisk away CD's.

"26," she said out of the blue.

"What?" he flinched, catching him completely off guard.

"I caught you staring at me 26 times since I walked through that door."

"Oh."

"Do you need something?" Beca asked, whipping her arm around placing various disks in their proper place, almost as if she memorized where each one went.

"Uh, no, not really," Jesse stuttered. A string of curses were muttered a second later as he mentally berated himself for his lack of tactical sense.

Almost on cue, the silence settled in again and the pair went back to work. A few minutes passed before Beca spoke again.

"My dad visited me the other day," she said in an even tone.

Jesse stopped what he was doing and looked to Beca in concern. "What happened?"

"We got into a little fight, but I'm pretty sure he's going to leave me alone for good this time."

Jesse placed the CD's in his hand on a nearby shelf and walked toward the middle of the room, plopping down on the edge of the infamous desk. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Beca moved on to the next row of shelves and continued to work. "Not really."

Jesse scuffed his shoes on the ground, trying to decipher the expressionless mask the brunette put on.

"I got a nice visit from Chloe too."

"Oh, really?"

Beca nodded. "Mhmm, she was eavesdropping on the disagreement Warren and I were having."

Jesse crossed his arms, immediately taking note of the change in pronoun of her father. "What'd you guys talk about?"

He assumed something big happened when he saw the brunette stop all movement, closing her eyes and leaning her forehead against the shelf. He heard her sigh deeply. "Nothing worth mentioning," she muttered, almost inaudibly.

Jesse smiled encouragingly, patting the vacant wooden surface next to him. "Come on, we've got time. Luke won't be back for another hour or so."

For the first time since he saw her that day, Beca looked up and Jesse was able to note the inner conflict butting heads in the brunette's eyes. She slowly walked over and leaned against the desk, her gaze remaining lowered. She stood there fiddling with her thumbs and tapping her foot as Jesse anticipated what she was about to say.

"She heard me talking about everything that happened after she left. You know, about our money problems because Warren leaving us and my mom's Alzheimer's."

Jesse nodded. "What'd she say?"

Beca gave a short laugh. "She asked me why I didn't call her and tell her about everything. Then, she went on some cheesy tangent saying that I didn't need to deal with anything alone anymore." The brunette looked to him with mock amusement in her eyes, "Can you believe that? She actually thinks she has the right to say all that shit to me."

He shrugged. "She wants to be there for you, Beca. No harm done in that."

Her eyebrows scrunched together in disapproval. "Yeah, I know but she doesn't get to say that after cheating on me."

Jesse sighed exasperatedly. "Beca, she hurt you, I get it. I probably know more than anyone else how broken you became after she left but I would never say something like this if I knew it would push you to the edge."

"Exactly. So why should I trust her again? She expects me to tell her everything that happened after she left and just doing that is giving her a part of me that I have to believe she won't hurt me with."

"You know exactly why, Beca. You can pretend all you want by fucking every girl that looks you in the eye but you and I both know that it's nothing more than a front. After everything you've gone through and all the pain festered inside of you, you still love her. You've never stopped loving her."

"Jesse," she sighed exasperatedly, "this isn't a movie where two people can fix everything and live happily ever after. There's complications and-"

"I know." He cut her off sternly. "I'm not stupid, Beca. I may have a passion for movies but I know better to base my life expectations around them. Plus, don't you find it weird how she just upped and left you?"

The brunette raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"I mean it's pretty strange that she decided to end things with you considering how much she loved you. Anyone could see how crazy she was about you."

Beca laughed bitterly. "It shows."

"Look, all I'm saying is to give her a chance to explain herself. I know for you it sounds crazy to even consider it because you'll assume she's going to be lying but judge what she says after she tells you."

Beca stayed silent with her eyes glued to the floor. "You shouldn't be making this much sense."

Jesse laughed aloud. "Hey, being your best friend is supposed to mean something you know."

The brunette smiled and looked at her best friend fondly. "Thanks," she said softly.

Jesse nudged her with his elbow. "Nothing to it, dude. You gotta get over your pity party someday, right?"

Beca rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Of course you'd ruin the moment."

**A/N: I know this chapter is disgustingly short, but I've been backed into a writer's block. I've been getting back into it though but I didn't want to feed you guys shit so this is one up higher than that. I do plan on finishing this story so I'll get there in due time. Once again, thank you so so much for all the favs, follows, and reviews!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Trigger warning: attempted rape**

* * *

It was early in the afternoon and Beca was sitting through her philosophy lecture zoning out and absentmindedly twirling the pen in her hand. Everything the professor was saying was going in her ear only to fly out the other, but the brunette could care less. The advice she got from Aubrey and Jesse the past few weeks kept haunting her mind and wouldn't leave her alone.

Half convinced by what her friends said, Beca tried to remember all the memories she and Chloe had made together. She could almost feel the intense love she had for the redhead again, and if words held any significance to Chloe, she believed the redhead loved her once too.

Jesse was right. Something did seem strange with how she broke things off with her, but Beca didn't want her doubts to raise her hopes up only to get her heart broken again. Still, Beca needed closure or else she'd never move on from Chloe, and she wanted nothing more to get over her. The brunette sighed deeply; she knew what she had to do.

Beca dropped her pen on her desk and took out her phone. She scrolled through her contacts list and found Chloe's contact information. Just as she was about to press over her name, Beca found herself staring at the familiar digits and couldn't help but reminisce their countless texts and all the late night phone calls that lasted until early morning. Sometimes, they'd even talk until daybreak and they'd come to school with deep bags under their eyes but they couldn't have been happier. Beca smiled fondly but quickly frowned as her heart clenched. She shook her head, hoping to sidestep the pain this time and tried not to drown in her bitterness.

She pressed Chloe's name and hoped her number was still the same as it was in high school.

_Can we talk?_

Beca set her phone down and expected to wait a while for a response, so it surprised her when her phone vibrated on the desk. Her heartbeat sped up with how fast Chloe texted her back. She couldn't help but feel a little happy.

_Of course. Do you want to meet up somewhere?_

_I'm in class right now, but can I come over to your apartment after?_

_Yeah, sure, I'll be waiting._

She felt her phone vibrate again and saw that Chloe texted the brunette her address. Beca's lips pulled into a small smile. The feeling of Chloe waiting for her almost made the brunette feel giddy but she immediately sobered up. She was going there to find out why the redhead left her to be with someone else, someone who she wasn't even on good terms with.

With the face of Tom popping up in her head, her mood darkened significantly. Considering the type of asshole he was, maybe she was never good enough for Chloe. Maybe for the entirety of their relationship, Chloe was faking everything and enjoying a good show that the brunette was putting on. What if the whole time, Chloe went behind her back to meet with Tom to have her needs truly be satisfied? It would only make sense. Chloe knew how much she meant to her but the redhead still left in the end. Why? The endless stream of doubts snipped away at the careless stitching of Beca's tattered heart.

By the time class ended, Beca walked away with a new found determination that stemmed from anger. She wanted to beat the living shit out of Tom, then hurt Chloe like she's never been hurt before, and she even wanted to bring Aubrey and Jesse pain for even convincing her to talk to the redhead.

The brunette stormed off towards Chloe's apartment after locating it all the way across campus. Swept up by the whirlwind of her temper, Beca walked fast towards her destination. As her legs kicked forward briskly, she felt her chest noticeably heaving in and out. Her breathing gradually got heavier, which was out of the ordinary because she made an effort to work out regularly. Too caught up in her anger to care, the brunette stubbornly ignored it and pushed her legs to move faster.

About ten minutes later, Chloe's apartment was in sight and by now, it felt like there was a huge weight sitting on the top of Beca's chest that was dragging her down. She felt beads of sweat sliding down her temple but she wiped it away, furious at how weak her body felt and it only served to fuel her rage. Beca slowed down but forced herself to continue walking seeing as she was almost there.

She entered the apartment building, crossing the lobby and pressed the button for the elevator. As she waited, the brunette leaned against the wall clutching her chest as she tried to catch her breath.

Beca closed her eyes and relaxed, feeling the pressure slightly lifting off her chest. She felt too exhausted to be angry anymore and instead, a deep sorrow took its place. A tremor ran through the brunette's body and she suddenly felt like weeping. The brunette listened to the whirring of the elevator as it made its descent from the top floors. She knew something was going wrong in her body. It was obvious and she wasn't stupid, but Beca didn't want to acknowledge it just yet. If only for a little longer, she wanted to feel like she was living a normal life like everyone else.

Out of nowhere, Beca felt a hand slide across her shoulder and her body tensed. She whipped her head around to see who it was and dropped her guard when she saw that it was only Aubrey.

"Dude, you fucking scared me," the brunette laughed breathlessly, still holding her hand over her chest.

Aubrey gave a small smile but her expression dropped to being concerned as she took in Beca's appearance. "Are you okay? You're really pale and you look like you just sprinted over here."

Beca let out a breath and smiled sweetly. "You know me, blondie. Just felt like I had to run over here to see you as soon as I could," she winked.

The blonde deadpanned. "Never call me that again," she said flatly right as the elevator 'dinged'. They both got in the lift and Aubrey pressed the button for the third floor. When the doors closed, the silence between them was almost deafening.

"So I'm guessing you're here to talk to Chloe?" she asked, still facing forward.

After assessing the atmosphere and the blonde's serious tone, the brunette's mood to joke dropped. "Yeah…I have to know why she left me," she muttered.

Aubrey turned to look at Beca sympathetically. "I'll understand if you get upset while talking to her, but you have to take into consideration that she hasn't even told me yet, and she tells me everything. Obviously, something serious went down with Tom and she desperately wants to keep it to herself. So just think of this as Chloe's time to get things off her chest, and she needs to feel accepted, especially by you."

The elevator stopped and the pair both got off and began walking down the hall.

"I know," Beca said softly, "It's just- it's hard to be civil when all I think about is how she left me for someone else."

The blonde nodded solemnly. "She knows that. I don't know how many times I held her when she cried herself to sleep while thinking about you."

Beca remained silent as they reached the end of the hall but instead of going inside, Aubrey grabbed the brunette's shoulder and made Beca turn to face her.

"I miss my best friend, Beca. She hasn't been the same ever since she broke things off with you, so if you do anything to hurt Chloe more than she already is, I will kill you. You better believe me when I say that this isn't just a simple threat," the blonde warned, and Beca didn't doubt Aubrey would do it at all.

With a silent nod from the brunette, Aubrey smiled and turned to open the door. Once inside, the blonde told Beca to go sit on the couch and to wait.

"Chloe, you have a visitor!" Aubrey yelled.

Beca heard the sound of sudden rushed footsteps. "Bree? I thought you were going to the store!" the redhead shouted back before coming out of the hallway next to the kitchen. Chloe stopped short when spotting the brunette on the couch. "Beca? When'd you come in?" Taken aback, the redhead turned to the blonde with pure confusion on her face.

"I was on my way out when I saw her wandering outside. Just thought I'd escort her here for good measure," Aubrey explained. Right before she turned around to leave, the blonde narrowed her eyes at Beca as a warning. "I'll be back later."

As soon as the door slammed shut and the clacking of Aubrey's boots faded away, an uncomfortable stillness settled in.

The redhead tentatively approached the brunette on the coach. "Did you get lost on the way?" Chloe asked innocently as she sat herself down next to Beca.

A solemn smile pulled at the corner of Beca's lips. "Yeah, I think I was," the brunette answered softly.

Beca felt the sinking of the couch cushions, and the only thing she could think about was how close Chloe's body was to her, yet it wasn't. She could smell the familiar warm fragrance and feel it muddling her brain.

"So what did you want to talk about?" the redhead asked, breaking Beca's train of thought.

Chloe saw the brunette's jaw clench and unclench repeatedly, which she knew was a sign that Beca was thinking deeply about something. The brunette's expression turned grim as she looked straight into the redhead's cerulean eyes. "Tell me why you left me, Chloe," Beca all but whispered. "I have to know why."

The brunette knew she took the redhead by surprise with the way Chloe looked dumbstruck and sought words to say. "R-right now?" the redhead stuttered with pleading eyes.

Beca simply nodded and Chloe bit her lip and looked away as she thought of what to say.

The redhead's reluctance to speak discouraged the brunette, and Beca lowered her eyes in defeat. "Was I never good enough for you?" she asked carefully.

"No, of course not!" the redhead denied quickly . Beca looked up and saw how her eyes were shining with unwavered honesty and she believed them.

"Then what was it?" she challenged.

Another moment was spent with Chloe pursing her lips in thoughtful silence. Then almost in a flash, the redhead met Beca's eyes and the brunette was surprised to see an unexpected determination. "Only if you go first."

Beca was caught off guard. "What?"

"The things you were talking about with your dad- I mean Warren a couple days ago. Tell me everything that happened first then I'll tell you my side of the story."

The brunette gritted her teeth, becoming irritated with how Chloe decided to turn the tables against her but remembered what Aubrey said. This was Chloe's time to share and right now, she needs to do things her way to feel comfortable enough to speak. Beca sighed and rubbed her eyes.

"Where do you want me to start?" she forced herself to ask.

Pleasantly surprised with how quickly she got her way with Beca, Chloe picked at her brain and belted out the first question that popped up in her head. "When did he leave?"

"Two years after you did," she answered, unphased.

"Why?"

Beca's eyes darkened as her eyebrows drew together. "He didn't want to deal with my mom."

Chloe gave her a curious look. "Tell me what happened."

The brunette struggled a bit and took a minute to gather her thoughts. "My mom...she developed early onset Alzheimer's. In the beginning, we just thought she was being forgetful, you know? That's why when she started having trouble remembering where some of our things went or the times when she said random stuff, we brushed it off as a joke."

Beca's hands curled into fists on her lap, her knuckles draining to deathly white. "Eventually, we figured out something was off, so we took her to the hospital and they diagnosed her with Alzheimer's. Months passed and she changed...a lot: she was forgetful, she became slow, and she stopped doing all the things she loved to do before. Seeing her so different killed me but for Warren, it just got him frustrated because he couldn't understand any of it. He never bothered to either."

Chloe saw how the corners of Beca's eyes were slanted down and the hood of her eyelids cast a dull shadow over her irises. It was the utter openness of the moment that made the redhead want to hug the smaller girl.

The brunette was caught up in the images flashing behind her eyes and didn't notice how the redhead grasped her clenched fist.

"Basically, Warren got fed up with how my mom couldn't do things on her own anymore. I mean, he tried at first but he just couldn't handle it. When my mom started calling him by one of her old ex-boyfriend's name, he snapped and ran off because he thought she was cheating on him." Beca scoffed, "Fucking coward. He was just looking for an excuse to run out on us.

After he left, I started senior year with just me and my mom. Warren was our only source of income so when he left, I had to work two jobs to support us. I didn't make enough though and our house got foreclosed and we got kicked out, so we moved into a one-bedroom apartment on the far side of town."

Beca chuckled bitterly as her eyes flashed briefly with wild anger, "I looked in the mail one day and saw a check sent by that fucker. I wanted to tear it up, burn it, and send the ashes right back to him, but I needed it for mom. Every time I cashed in that fucking check I hated him more than the last time and I hated myself at how helpless I was."

The redhead squeezed Beca's still clenched fist. "You weren't helpless, you were doing all that you could." Chloe said gently. This time the brunette noticed but instead of instinctively yanking her hand away, the wildness in her eyes defused and she offered a small smile.

Chloe smiled back, encouraging Beca to continue.

"Even with that check, we were still struggling to get by and I couldn't pay for any medication to slow down my mom's symptoms, so she started to get worse. Around a month before senior year ended, I collapsed one day at work from exhaustion. My coworker took me to a hospital and after the doctor finished running all the tests, he said it was best that I stay there overnight."

Beca's eyes dropped and stared blankly at the floor.

"In the middle of the night, two cops came into my room and told me that there was a fire in my apartment. They assumed that it started from the stove and guessed that my mom was trying to cook something but left the fire on. Everything inside burned down...so did my mom."

The redhead rubbed soothing lines on Beca's hand as the brunette continued to relive her memories once more. "Did you get to see her?"

Beca closed her eyes wearily and her lip trembled but bit it harshly to stop it. "Yeah. I made them let me," she whispered hoarsely as she pictured the charred, disfigured face of her mother. She remembered cautiously grasping her mother's hand only to jerk it back to see black flakes of singed skin covering her palm. "No one would have recognized her."

Chloe rubbed away a tear that slid down the brunette's cheek. "What about Warren?"

"The police contacted Warren and told him he had to come get me. I had to live with him and finish what was left of the school year. Thank god Jesse was there with me though, he made everything seem a little less unbearable and pushed me to pass all my classes. I'm lucky I even graduated."

Beca turned to look at Chloe and gave a sad smile. "And now I'm here."

The redhead returned the gesture. "And now you're here..." Chloe repeated faintly, "I can't believe how brave you were, Beca. I'm so proud of you and I'm sure your mom was too."

The brunette's face fell and Beca looked away again. "She died...I failed her."

"Hey," Chloe said softly. She cupped the brunette's cheek and made Beca look at her. The redhead saw the swirl of emotion physically manifested as the tears in the brunette's eyes "Warren's the one who failed her. He's the one who ran off and dumped everything onto your shoulders. You worked to the bone to keep your mom safe and healthy and that's more than anyone would've done if they were in your place. So don't shortchange yourself, Beca. You did amazing."

Beca's eyes softened. She felt her heart constrict at the gentleness she hadn't felt in years.

Chloe saw the vulnerability, the deep weariness and it pained her. The redhead wrapped her arms around Beca's neck and brought her in to lean against her collarbone.

Wide eyed with the foreignness of the strange familiarity, Beca was at a loss for what to do. Her senses were on high alert and her muscles stiffened but just as fast as her body tensed, she felt something snap. She felt herself relaxing against her old lover's touch and she roped her own arms around Chloe's waist and for the first time in years, she finally felt at peace with herself.

As much as Beca craved to lose herself in the redhead's embrace, she pulled back. She saw a frown etched on Chloe's face but smirked to show that everything was alright.

"Your turn," Beca said.

The brunette saw the flash of panic cross Chloe's face but when she opened her mouth to speak, the pair heard keys jingling and saw the door open to reveal Aubrey with grocery bags hanging off her arm.

"Hey guys," the blonde greeted breathlessly.

"Hey." Chloe stood up from the couch and walked over to Aubrey. "You need some help?"

The blonde looked to Beca then to Chloe and assumed things went well since neither of the two looked upset. "Yeah, sure."

The brunette watched as the pair started to put everything away in their proper areas. "Figures, saved by the best friend," Beca mumbled under her breath. Thinking that their talk was over, the brunette slumped against the couch and sighed, closing her eyes to rest from the emotional high.

When all the food was put away and the last cabinet was shut, Aubrey turned to go into her room when Chloe grabbed her wrist.

"Bree, there's something I want to tell you and Beca." Aubrey raised her eyebrow in confusion but saw the nervousness in her best friend's eyes and only nodded in response. They both walked over to the couch where Beca was laying with closed eyes.

The blonde swiftly smacked the back of the brunette's head, making Beca yelp in surprise. "Wake up. Chloe wants to tell us something."

Beca rubbed her head with a scowl on her face, "I don't think I like your rough side anymore."

Aubrey silenced her with a withering glare. "Shut up and listen."

Both girls turned their attention to the silent redhead who was sitting quietly in deep thought. The blonde scooted closer to Chloe and held her hand for support and the redhead nodded appreciatively, motioning that she was going to be fine.

Beca saw the conflict, the fear, the shame, and the hurt in Chloe's eyes. She felt concerned, something she didn't think she would ever feel after the redhead left. The brunette's feet carried her over and sat her next to Chloe while her hand hesitantly gripped the redhead's knee.

It took all three of them by surprise but when Chloe smiled warmly at Beca, the brunette knew she made the right move.

"I met Tom three months before graduation," Chloe started slowly, "I didn't really know who he was then because I only had him in one of my classes that year, but one day he sat next to me in class and we started talking. After a while, he got around to telling me that he was diagnosed with cancer a month before and that he didn't have much time to live."

Beca's face scrunched in confusion. "Wait, he didn't look sick when I saw him."

Chloe's eyes dropped. "I know," she said weakly. "He told me he had cancer and said he was in love with me for the past year. He said he knew I had a girlfriend but he just wanted to be with me for the last couple months of his life."

Chloe looked at Beca with tearful pleading eyes. "I didn't know what to do. I thought he was dying, Beca. I felt like I had no choice."

The brunette felt her heart breaking all over again, every closed wound were being sliced open only to have salt rubbed into them. "You could've came to me. We could've talked about it together and figured out what to do," she said in frustration.

Chloe chuckled sadly, shaking her head. "I know you, Beca. You would've told him to back off because I was your girl."

Beca winced when hearing the past tense. _Was your girl._

Aubrey only rolled her eyes in annoyance."Okay, obviously you agreed with his terms then what happened?" Aubrey asked.

"He took me out on a couple dates and we hung out and at first, I felt guilty but he looked genuinely happy so I thought I was doing the right thing. Then, a month after we got to Barden, Tom told me how he wanted to have his first time with me before he died and of course, I consented because I felt like I had no one else to hold onto after losing you, Beca.

That night, we were supposed to do it but I just couldn't go through with it because I was so heartbroken over what happened after graduation. He kept insisting and pushing and tried to guilt trip me to continue when four of his friends barged into his room. They came in with alcohol and were already buzzed. They yelled that they were there to pick Tom up to go to the club, but I was just confused because he wasn't supposed to be drinking at all. One of the guys recognized me and I ended up finding out the truth about everything when he made a slip. Turned out, Tom and his friends made a bet that he'd get five thousand dollars if he could get me to fall in love with him and have sex with him."

Chloe choked on a sob, holding both Aubrey's and Beca's hand tightly for support as she continued.

"I got so scared and tried to make a run for it but he pulled me back onto the bed. He said he might as well get in a good fuck now that I found out. Three of his friends said they wanted to join in too and started taking their clothes off."

Chloe shuddered and started to cry. "I tried screaming but one of them covered my mouth and two of the others held my arms against the bed. I tried to fight them off, but they were too strong. They slapped me around and it hurt so much that I gave up and just started crying."

Aubrey was enraged with a greenish tint plaguing her cheeks while Beca's face drained of color and felt her blood run cold, her mouth gaping open in shock.

"Why didn't you report them?" Aubrey suggested furiously.

"No one would've believed me! Everyone always talked about how nice and sweet he was to me so who would've believed that he and his friends tried to rape me?"

The blonde had nothing to say because even she knew of Tom's sweet southern boy image, but she heard some of the things he said and knew it was fake. "Why didn't you tell me?" Aubrey asked, upset at the thought of her best friend dealing with this all on her own.

The redhead broke down in sobs and she struggled to speak coherently. "I felt so stupid that I fell for his tricks, and I didn't want you guys to be ashamed of me."

Aubrey gathered Chloe into her arms and hugged her fiercely. "Chloe, you're my best friend. Nothing you do will ever make me feel ashamed of you."

The redhead nodded and cried harder into her best friend's shoulder. The blonde looked to see Beca's reaction but saw the brunette sitting stiff with an unreadable expression. There was something unsettling about the way Beca was zoned out with her lips pressed into a thin line. It unnerved her.

"How did you get out?" Aubrey asked after Chloe calmed down.

The redhead sniffled, wiping the tear marks off her cheeks. "One of his friends saved me. He hit Tom and knocked him out. Then all of them started fighting but since most of them were drunk, he was able to beat them off.

He grabbed me and we ran for it and when we were certain that none of them chased after us, he walked me to my dorm. After that night, I didn't ever want to leave the room but he was always there to help me and came to walk me to my classes everyday."

"That's why he was always with you?" Aubrey wondered.

Chloe nodded.

"What was that guy's name?" Beca asked out of the blue.

"Luke. He came from England for college."

"The station manager at the radio station?" the brunette asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, that's him."

A few minutes passed in thoughtful silence. "I can't believe Tom would do that to you," Aubrey whispered, shaking her head.

Beca sat quietly again while her mind buzzed with images of Chloe writhing beneath Tom, trying to get away only to be pinned down. She saw Chloe crying for help and ultimately letting go of all strength and hope in defeat. "I'll kill him," Beca murmured venomously, fists clenching into tight balls. "I'll fucking kill him!" The brunette jumped up and started pacing the room as she seethed with rage.

"Beca, calm down! We're lucky nothing happened to Chloe," Aubrey shouted.

"He'll fucking pay for doing this to you! I'll make him pay with his life!" With a savage shout, Beca lunged for the wall with her fist, tearing right through the drywall. The brunette pulled on her arm but seeing as it was stuck, yanked her hand out in frustration. Blood gushed down Beca's fingers in tiny rivers from the cuts on her skin.

"Beca, stop!" Chloe yelled.

Everything in the brunette's mind was clouded and she couldn't think straight. Caught up in a blind fury, the brunette pulled her bloody fist back in another attempt to hit the wall only to be fished out of her rage when she felt arms wrap around her waist.

"It's alright, Beca. I'm fine. Nothing happened to me." the redhead reassured her. The brunette's body hung mid-motion and Chloe grasped Beca's wrist gently and lowered her arm down from it's position.

Almost in an instant, Beca's mind regained clarity and Aubrey looked surprised with her mouth wide open at how quickly Chloe was able to defuse the brunette. But as soon as Beca's head cleared, her vision swirled. It was happening again. She struggled to fight off the impending darkness and tried to ignore the pounding in her head but not without stumbling out of Chloe's grip and collapsing onto the floor. She heard Aubrey and Chloe's muffled voices but she couldn't focus on anything.

When the spell ended, it left the brunette slightly labored for breath and disoriented.

"Beca? Are you alright?" Chloe asked, worried out of her mind.

The brunette nodded. "Yeah, fine. Just a headrush"

The redhead looked considerably relieved while Aubrey looked at her warily. "Here, let me take care of your hand." Chloe pulled Beca up off the floor and ushered her to the couch and walked off to get the first aid kit.

When the redhead was out of sight, Beca noticed Aubrey staring at her. "What?" she asked, her tone slightly clipped.

The blonde shook her head, "Nothing," but still continued to hold Beca in her gaze.

Beca felt beyond irritated. She knew those eyes; they were the type of eyes that was holding the brunette under observation, trying to diagnose something that they thought was peculiar. She absolutely hated that look.

Shortly, the redhead strolled back into the living room oblivious to the fact that the blonde and the brunette were having some kind of staring contest. As soon as Chloe sat down next to Beca, Aubrey got up and walked into the kitchen. The redhead gently took the brunette's hand and set it down on her lap. Chloe tore through a packet of alcohol swabs and started applying it to Beca's cuts.

The brunette winced and hissed in pain as she felt the alcohol come in contact with her inflamed skin. None of them were too deep but the brunette had quite a few and there were going to be obvious bruises on her knuckles.

"That's what you get for punching the wall," Chloe scolded.

"Sorry," Beca cringed guiltily.

The redhead looked at the brunette and smiled. She went back to tending Beca's hand, finishing cleaning it and bandaging it but Chloe made no move to let go of the brunette's hand. Instead, the redhead held Beca's bandaged hand with both hands and looked into the brunette's eyes. "Thank you, Beca. For opening up to me and also listening to me without getting mad at me."

The brunette grinned, triggering butterflies to flutter inside the redhead's stomach. "Nothing to it...and, umm, thank you too"

Chloe cocked her head to the side. "For what?"

Beca's eyes shifted from side to side as she rubbed her neck uncomfortably. "You know...for, uh, umm."

The redhead ducked her head low to catch the brunette's gaze. "Yes?" she said, drawing out the 's'.

Looking into the sapphire orbs momentarily threw Beca's brain into the clouds and it took her a second for her to recover. "F-for being there for me," the brunette forcibly stuttered, her cheeks feeling warm.

"That's nothing to thank me for," Chloe giggled and Beca felt like they were sent back into the fruits of their high school years. The brunette looked on wide eyed and everything she thought she buried rushed through her. She knew that her feelings were venturing into dangerous territory but right then, she couldn't bring herself to care.

Beca blinked and she was brought back to reality. She acknowledged that she still had feelings for the redhead and that everything she was angry about for the past three years had been a misunderstanding, but nothing changed the fact that Chloe hurt her. The damage had been done. Yet, it'd be wrong if she didn't try fixing things with Chloe.

The brunette stood up abruptly. "I have to go."

"You're leaving already?" Chloe asked, standing up too.

"Y-yeah, I have a paper due," Beca explained nervously.

"Since when do you do homework?" Aubrey interrupted loudly from the kitchen.

The brunette shot the blonde an annoyed look while Chloe giggled again from their exchange. The redhead brought Beca in for a quick, tight hug and they walked together towards the door.

"Wait!" Aubrey yelled, walking out of the kitchen. "I'll walk you out."

Beca raised her eyebrows and Chloe stared at her best friend in confusion. "No, you don't have to do that," the brunette insisted politely but the blonde silenced her with another glare. She forgot how good Aubrey was at that. "Alright, then."

Chloe followed the pair out into the hall. "I'll see you later, Becs?" she asked hopefully.

Aubrey beamed warmly. She could already see the change in her best friend's demeanor and it felt like she was greeting a long lost friend.

"Y-yeah," the brunette stuttered, caught off guard by her old nickname. The redhead grinned happily and jumped into Beca's arms for another quick hug before turning to go back inside.

Aubrey started to walk down the hall to the elevator and the brunette followed in silence. A dark cloud hung over Beca's head as she continued to think about Tom and the tense air between her and Aubrey didn't help at all. The brunette didn't want to address it and ignored the fact that they had an almost hostile stare down. She just wanted to go back into her dorm room and flop onto her bed and take a nap.

The sun was setting beyond the surrounding buildings when the pair walked out of the apartment complex. Before Beca got a chance to bid the blonde goodbye, she felt a tight grip squeezing her arm. She looked up in aggravation and swung her arm out of Aubrey's hold.

"Dude, what the fuck is your problem?" Beca hissed defensively.

The blonde eyed her sternly. "What's going on, Beca?"

"I'm trying to get back to my fucking dorm, that's what's going on right now."

Aubrey took a step forward threateningly and Beca stepped back instinctively, not comfortable with the blonde's attempt to invade her personal space. "No, I meant when you almost collapsed from being dizzy earlier and at initiation night, and when you were waiting for the elevator all pale and exhausted trying to catch your breath. What's going on?"

Beca crossed her arms defiantly. "Dude, nothing is wrong. Mind your own damn business." The brunette turned around and started walking away, pissed off at the blonde's invasiveness.

"If you don't tell me right now, I'm going to tell Chloe all the symptoms I've seen you have," Aubrey yelled, making Beca stop in her tracks. "You already know she wants to be a doctor and she's been studying for the MCAT, so I don't doubt she'll figure it out sooner or later."

Beca's nose flared and let out a deep breath as she tried to control her temper. "Motherfucker," she mumbled, gritting her teeth. The brunette whipped around and trudged towards the blonde aggressively. "What's it to you, huh? Why the fuck do you want to know?"

Aubrey crossed her arms and stood her ground. "Because for some reason, I am the fortunate one who always finds you close to passing out so when one of these days you die from your own stupidity, I'd like to know the reason why."

Beca's chest rumbled in a low growl as she glared at Aubrey and the blonde glared right back. In the corner of the brunette's eye, she saw people snickering at the scene they were making and her cheeks immediately flushed in embarrassment.

Aubrey saw this too and remembered that Beca never liked to be the center of attention. "I could scream for Chloe to come down here any second," the blonde threatened smugly, "I'm pretty sure everyone in the building is going to pop their head out the window to see what's going on."

Beca squinted her eyes; she knew what the blonde was playing at. "You wouldn't."

Aubrey smirked, "Try me."

Beca sighed in exasperation, running her fingers through her hair. "Bitch," she muttered none too quietly.

The blonde cocked her head to the side. "What was that? Did you want me to call Chloe?"

"Alright, fine, I get it. But you have to promise me you won't tell anyone, especially Chloe."

Aubrey nodded. "Deal."

Beca's jaw clenched. "I lied to Chloe. I told her I fainted once from over-exhaustion and was taken to the hospital, but I didn't pass out from that. I mean, it did play a big part in it, but it was from having rheumatic fever."

"Rheumatic fever?" Aubrey asked incredulously. "Is that what's causing your dizziness?"

Beca shook her head. "No, it means that my condition is getting worse, but I don't know what it is exactly."

The blonde approached the brunette, in an overly concerned fashion. "How do you not know? Come on, I'll take you to the hospital right now."

Beca backed away immediately. "No!" she shouted but shortly felt guilty when seeing Aubrey jolt in surprise. "I just-I don't need anyone else obsessing over my health, okay? I'll get checked out on my own time so don't worry about it, it's not a big deal."

"Beca," Aubrey said softly, pulling the brunette into her arms. Saying it was awkward getting hugged by the blonde was an understatement, but Beca appreciated the gesture. "We're going to the hospital tomorrow, and I'm not taking 'no' for an answer."

Beca rolled her eyes. Of course Aubrey didn't hear a word she said. "Yeah, whatever," she grumbled, not even bothering to protest at that point. The brunette pulled away from their embrace and took a step back. "Can I go now? I still have a paper to write."

Aubrey looked at her skeptically but didn't say anything. "Take care of yourself, alright?" the blonde said in an almost pleading tone.

"I will," Beca assured, giving a small smile and turned to leave again.

"Oh, and Beca?" Aubrey called when the brunette walked a few meters away.

"Yeah?" Beca replied, glancing over her shoulder to look at the blonde

"You're paying for that wall," the blonde stated in a factual tone but still had a sweet smile tugging at her lips.

For some reason, a chill crept down the brunette's spine and she couldn't help but feel a little frightened. "Right."

**A/N: Once again, can't thank you guys enough for the favs, follows, reviews, and PM's. To be honest, I've been writing this without an ending in mind but recently I've gotten this idea that I'm seriously considering. Therefore, it might take time for me to develop and see if I really want it and if I do go through with it, it's going to be a major plot change from the original idea. So just sending out a warning. Thanks so much for reading!**


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